It’s kind of risky and revealing to write these daily gospel-sanity “devos.” Whoever reads them gets an easy-to-discern taste of the ways I know myself to be in need of the transforming power of the gospel, right now. And right now I am aware of how little I spontaneously and joyfully love from the heart the way Jesus loves with his whole being.
Over the course of the next several days, I want us to take a look at this very well known, but less well pondered, description of love that comes to us in Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthian churches. I wish I could simply make a few pithy points about this text and move onto something else tomorrow. But that’s not gonna happen, ’cause my need is too great and this well is too deep.
For starters, let’s realize that this passage takes the phrase “Jesus loves me” from the realm of sentimental abstraction to substantive application. These words and images are meant to stun our hearts with an awareness of how Jesus is relentlessly loving us every minute of every day. He is the one who will be patient and kind towards me/us this day. Patience presupposes provocation. I will provoke Jesus today, by my words, thoughts and deeds. Yet his response will not be the body language of disgust or harshness, but kindness, for his kindness will lead me to repentance like no other influence. The only body language Jesus will offer us today in response to the ways we love so poorly will be the body language of the cross. Let’s soak in that one for a while.