Love bears all things

            Did you ever wonder why I Cor 13 uses the words bears all thing and endures all things in the same sentence?   Aren’t they the same?  Well, I did even if you didn’t.   As our house church studied the passage last year, it came to us that the two words express two very different ideas.   “Bears all things” has to do with bearing burdens as Gal. 6:1-3 says.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who [are] spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

So what is the “law of Christ”?  It is the law of love and as we see, love bears all things.   It has been said that the church is one of the few institutions where we shoot our wounded.   We need to go after the wounded, bear their burdens with them and help them get their lives back in focus with the one who loves them more than they will ever know.

Regarding Jesus, Isaiah 53:4 in the NAV says “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted”

No one who has walked this earth has ever loved like Jesus loved.   Jesus took on our sins, our grief, our sorrows.  Jesus told us

 “"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.”  Mathew 11:28-30.

Why is His yoke easy, His burden light?  Because He is yoked with us; bearing our burden with us.

Clearly, Jesus bears all things.  

Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth

Well everyone knows the big news of the day.  Osama Bin Laden is dead and there is rejoicing in the streets.   On 9/11/2001, there were others in this world rejoicing over the loss of many lives here in the US. Top among the celebrators was  the infamous Osama, believing that Allah was blessing them with victory.   I must say, I did not shed a tear at the news of his demise. 

We must ask ourselves,  what does God feel?  What is His perspective?  

Eze 33:11

"Say to them: '[As] I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. ….

I guess if God doesn’t take pleasure in the wicked’s death, neither should I. 

Today’s world has increased its rejoicing in iniquity many fold.   We are told to celebrate diversity in support of all sorts of perversions of what God intended for us.   We accept all religions and sects as equal, even when they go directly against what God has given us and enslave instead of free.  We have replaced love for something we call “tolerance” and in the name of tolerance, we find ourselves rejoicing over the very things that are destroying the objects of God’s love. 

Jesus demonstrated His intolerance of sin while clearly demonstrating His love of the sinner.    For instance with the woman caught in adultery,   He didn’t accuse her, but He did tell her to sin no more.   Truth and Love go together.

Jesus encouraged His disciples to rejoice in the truth as He said  "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  Luke 10:20.

Did you know that God rejoices over us?   Zeph 3:17 says “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet [you] with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

So, God does not rejoice in iniquity, but He rejoices in the truth.