ONE: THE 7:47 PRINCIPLE"We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19 NASB).
1. There is one area in which the woman leaves him eating dust. Think about it. What one discovery has she made that Simon hasn’t? What one treasure does she cherish that Simon doesn’t? Simple. God’s love. We don’t know when she received it. We aren’t told how she heard about it. Did she overhear Jesus’ words “Your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36 ESV)? Was she nearby when Jesus had compassion on the widow of Nain? Did someone tell her how Jesus touched lepers and turned tax collectors into disciples? We don’t know. But we know this. She came thirsty. Thirsty from guilt. Thirsty from regret. Thirsty from countless nights of making love and finding none. She came thirsty.
2. So while she drinks up, Simon puffs up. While she has ample love to give, he has no love to offer. Why? The 7:47 Principle. Read again Luke verse 47 of chapter 7: “A person who is forgiven little shows only little love”. Just like the jumbo jet, the 7:47 Principle has wide wings. Just like the aircraft, this truth can lift you to another level. Read it one more time. “A person who is forgiven little shows only little love”. In other words, we can’t give what we’ve never received. If we’ve never received love, how can we love others?
Could it be that the secret to loving is receiving? You give love by first receiving it. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NASB).
“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other” (I John 4:11 NLT).
3. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (I Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV). Rather than let this scripture remind us of a love we cannot produce, let it remind us of a love we cannot resist—God’s love.
Please listen to heaven’s answer. God loves you. Personally. Powerfully. Passionately. Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded. He loves you with an unfailing love. And His love—if you will let it—can fill you and leave you with a love worth giving. So come. Come thirsty and drink deeply.
TWO: LOVE'S FLAGSHIP
"Love is patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4).
1. The Greek word used here for patience is a descriptive one. It figuratively means “taking a long time to boil”. Think about a pot of boiling water. What factors determine the speed at which it boils? The size of the stove? No. The pot? The utensil may have an influence, but the primary factor is the intensity of the flame. Water boils quickly when the flame is high. It boils slowly when the flame is low. Patience “keeps the burner down”. Helpful clarification, don’t you think? Patience isn’t naive. It doesn’t ignore misbehavior. It just keeps the flame low. It waits. It listens. It’s slow to boil. This is how God treats us. And, according to Jesus, this is how we should treat others.
Patience is more than a virtue for long lines and slow waiters. Patience is the red carpet upon which God’s grace approaches us.
2. If you find patience hard to give, you might ask, how infiltrated are you with God’s patience? You’ve heard about it. Read about it. Perhaps underlined Bible passages regarding it. But have you received it? The proof is in your patience. Patience deeply received results in patience freely offered.
3. Impatience still imprisons the soul. For that reason, our God is quick to help us avoid it. He does more than demand patience from us; He offers it to us. Patience is a fruit of His Spirit. It hangs from the tree of Galatians 5:22: “The Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience”. Have you asked God to give you some fruit? Well I did once, but . . . But what? Did you, hmm, grow impatient? Ask Him again and again and again. He won’t grow impatient with your pleading, and you will receive patience in your praying. And while you’re praying, ask for understanding. “Patient people have great understanding” (Prov. 14:29). Could it be your impatience stems from a lack of understanding?
“God is being patient with you” (2 Pet. 3:9). And if God is being patient with you, can’t you pass on some patience to others? Of course you can. Because before love is anything else: Love is patient.
THREE: YOUR KINDNESS QUOTIENT
"Love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV).
The kindness of Jesus. We are quick to think of His power, His passion, and His devotion. But those near Him knew and know, God comes cloaked in kindness.
1. Jesus wanted to do more than heal her body. He wanted to hear her story—all of it. The whole story. What a kind thing to do. The miracle restored her health. The kindness restored her dignity.
Jesus’ invitation offers the sweetest proof of the kindness of heaven: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matt. 11:28–30 NKJV).
2. Kindness at home. Kindness in public. Kindness at church and kindness with your enemies. Pretty well covers the gamut, don’t you think? Almost. Someone else needs your kindness. Who could that be? You.
3. He is kind to you. Why don’t you be kind to yourself? He forgives your faults. Why don’t you do the same? He thinks tomorrow is worth living. Why don’t you agree? He believes in you enough to call you His ambassador, His follower, even His child. Why not take His cue and believe in yourself?
Be kind to yourself. God thinks you’re worth His kindness. And He’s a good judge of character.
FOUR: INFLAMED
"Love does not envy" (1 Corinthians 13:4 NKJV).
God offers authentic love. His devotion is the real deal. But He won't give you the genuine until you surrender the imitations.
1. You know, for the sake of your house, you don’t play with fire. For the sake of your heart, the same is true. A warning should be offered about the fire in the heart, which, left unchecked, can burst into a hungry flame and consume all that is consumable. The name of the fire? Solomon tagged it. “Jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire” (Song of Sol. 8:6 RSV).
2. My job was not to question Him but to trust Him. “Don’t be jealous. . . .Trust the LORD and do good” (Ps. 37:1, 3). The cure for jealousy? Trust. The cause of jealousy? Distrust. The sons of Jacob didn’t trust God to meet their needs. The Pharisees didn’t trust God to solve their problem.
3. What are the consequences of envy?Loneliness tops the list. Solomon says, “Anger is cruel and destroys like a flood, but no one can put up with jealousy!” (Prov. 27:4). Who wants to hang out with a jealous fool? Sickness is another consequence. The wise man also wrote, “Peace of mind means a healthy body, but jealousy will rot your bones” (Prov. 14:30). Violence is the ugliest fruit. “You want something you don’t have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill!” ( James 4:2 CEV).
Stop listing what you want, and start trusting God to provide what you need.
God withholds what we desire in order to give us what we need. You desire a spouse; He gives you Himself. You seek a larger church; He prefers a stronger church. You want to be healed so you can serve. He wants you confined so you can pray.
4. You suppose your Father wants to give you some as well? He offers authentic love. His devotion is the real deal. But He won’t give you the genuine until you surrender the imitations. What pearls is He hoping you’ll release? What costume jewelry would He love for you to drop? Would you exchange the lesser gifts for the highest gift of knowing God? If you would, then your envy will pass. Jealousy has no fire when true love is received.
FIVE: GOD'S "NO PECKING" ZONE
"Love . . . does not boast, it is not proud" (1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV).
That’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself. Your soul was more important than His blood. Your eternal life was more important than His earthly life. Your place in heaven was more important to Him than His place in heaven. So He gave up His so you could have yours.
1. For that reason God says that love has no place for pecking orders. Jesus won’t tolerate such thinking. Such barnyard mentality may fly on the farm but not in His kingdom. Just listen to what He says about the alpha birds of His day: "They do good things so that other people will see them. They make the boxes of Scriptures that they wear bigger, and they make their special prayer clothes very long. Those Pharisees and teachers of the law love to have the most important seats at feasts and in the synagogues. They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them “Teacher” (Matt. 23:5–7).
2. Jesus has no room for pecking orders. Love “does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Cor. 13:4 NIV). His solution to man-made caste systems? A change of direction. In a world of upward mobility, choose downward servility. Go down, not up. “Regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3 NASB). That’s what Jesus did. He flip-flopped the pecking order. While others were going up, He was going down.
3. Want to love others as God has loved you? Come thirsty. Drink deeply of God’s love for you, and ask Him to fill your heart with a love worth giving. A love that will enable you to:
• Put others before yourself
Philippians 2:3: “In humility consider others better than yourselves” (NIV).
• Accept your part in His plan
True humility is not thinking lowly of yourself but thinking accurately of yourself. The humble heart does not say, “I can’t do anything”. But rather, “I can’t do everything. I know my part and am happy to do it”.
• Be quick to applaud the success of others
The humble heart honors others.
SIX: A CALL TO COMMON COURTESY
"Love is not rude" (1 Corinthians 13:5)
1. Talk about an upgrade! Not just coach to first class. How about sinner to saint, hellbent to heavenbound, confused to clarified, guilty to justified? If anyone has been bumped up, I have. I’m not only heading home, I’m heading home in style. And I didn’t pay a cent. Nor have any of God’s children.
When defining what love is not, Paul put rudeness on the list. “It is not rude” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV). The Greek word for rude means shameful or disgraceful behavior.
God calls us to a higher, more noble concern. Not “What are my rights?” but “What is loving?”
2. Perhaps you’ve never placed the word courteous next to Christ. I hadn’t until I wrote this chapter. He always knocks before entering. He doesn’t have to. He owns your heart. If anyone has the right to barge in, Christ does. But He doesn’t. That gentle tap you hear? It’s Christ. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Rev. 3:20 NASB). And when you answer, He awaits your invitation to cross the threshold.
3. He is courteous enough to tell you His name (Exod. 3:15) and to call you by yours (John 10:3). And when you talk, He never interrupts. He “knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8 NIV). He also knows what you’ve done before you ask Him for forgiveness. “Nothing in all creation can hide from Him. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes” (Heb. 4:13 NLT). A God of lesser courtesy would stop you midsentence with reminders of your past foibles. Not Christ. He is not rude. He listens.
4. People can be so rude. We snatch parking places. We forget names. We interrupt. We fail to show up. Could you use some courtesy? Has it been a while since someone pulled out your chair? Then let Jesus. Don’t hurry through this thought. Receive the courtesy of Christ. He’s your groom. Does not the groom cherish the bride? Respect the bride? Honor the bride? Let Christ do what He longs to do.
For as you receive His love, you’ll find it easier to give yours. As you reflect on His courtesy to you, you’ll be likely to offer the same.
5. The truth is, we are all wearing a shirt. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal. 3:27 NIV). We wear Jesus. And those who don’t believe in Jesus note what we do. They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we are kind, they assume Christ is kind. No wonder Paul says, “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (Col. 4:5–6). Courteous conduct honors Christ.
Common courtesy honors God and His children. “Do your best to live in peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18). Just do your best. You can’t control their attitude, but you can manage yours.
SEVEN: GETTING THE "I" OUT OF YOUR EYE
"Love . . . is not self-seeking" (1 Corinthians 13:4–5 NIV)
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3–4 NASB).
1. Looking after your personal interests is proper life management. Doing so to the exclusion of the rest of the world is selfishness. The adverb high-lighted in verse 4 is helpful. “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”. Desire success? Fine. Just don’t hurt others in achieving it. Wish to look nice? That’s okay. Just don’t do so by making others look bad. Love isn’t selfish.
2. Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind. (Phil. 2:1–2 NASB). What’s the cure for selfishness? Get your self out of your eye by getting your eye off your self. Quit staring at that little self, and focus on your great Savior.
3. A friend who is an Episcopalian minister explains the reason he closes his prayers with the sign of the cross. “The touching of my forehead and chest makes a capital ‘I.’ The gesture of touching first one shoulder, then the other, cuts the ‘I’ in half”. Isn’t that a work of the Cross? A smaller “I” and a greater Christ? Don’t focus on yourself; focus on all that you have in Christ. Focus on the encouragement in Christ, the consolation of Christ, the love of Christ, the fellowship of the Spirit, the affection and compassion of heaven.
EIGHT: THE HEADWATERS OF ANGER
"Love . . . is not easily angered" (1 Corinthians 13:4–5 NIV)
1. Anger in and of itself is not a sin. The emotion was God’s idea. “Be angry,” he urges, “and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26 NKJV). It’s possible to feel what Cain felt without doing what Cain did. Anger is not a sin, but it can lead to sin. Interesting. This is the first appearance of Anger in the Bible. He’ll pop up some four hundred more times between here and the maps in the back, but this is the first occasion. He pulls up to the curb and gets out of the car, and look who is in the front seat with him—Rejection. Anger and Rejection in the same sentence.
2. Stop for a second. Did you just make a discovery? Did a light go on? Have you for the first time found the headwaters of your anger? Can your bitterness be traced upstream to a feeling of divine rejection? If so (I’m glad to tell you this), in finding the cause you have also found the cure.
3. If rejection causes anger, wouldn’t acceptance cure it? If rejection by heaven makes you mad at others, wouldn’t acceptance from heaven stir your love for them? This is the 7:47 Principle. Remember the verse? “He who is forgiven little loves little.” We can replace the word forgiven with accepted and maintain the integrity of the passage. “He who is accepted little loves little”. If we think God is harsh and unfair, guess how we’ll treat people. Harshly and unfairly. But if we discover that God has doused us with unconditional love, would that make a difference?
4. “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3 NIV). The Chinese language has a great symbol for this truth. The word for righteousness is a combination of two pictures. On the top is a lamb. Beneath the lamb is a person. The lamb covers the person. Isn’t that the essence of righteousness? The Lamb of Christ over the child of God? Whenever the Father looks down on you, what does He see? He sees His Son, the perfect Lamb of God, hiding you.
When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you; He sees Jesus. And how does He respond when He sees Jesus? He rends the heavens and vibrates the earth with the shout, “You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you” (Mark 1:11).
Through Christ, God has accepted you. Think about what this means. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you.
5. God can help you get rid of your anger. He made galaxies no one has ever seen and dug canyons we have yet to find. “The LORD . . . heals all your diseases” (Ps. 103:2–3 NIV). Do you think among those diseases might be the affliction of anger? Do you think God could heal your angry heart? Do you want Him to? This is not a trick question. He asks the same question of you that He asked of the invalid: “Do you want to be well?” ( John 5:6). Not everyone does. You may be addicted to anger. You may be a rage junkie. Anger may be part of your identity. But if you want Him to, He can change your identity. Do you want Him to do so?
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