God Calling IV: Motivational Gut Check

I Corinthians 13

Matt and I have already done a four-sermon series on this text and we devoted an entire class session to it. All that would seem to be left is to memorize it. But even if you have already done that, the real key is to live from the center of selfless sacrificial love. In our spiritual gifts study, we have seen that the gifts we are discovering were often dormant before we met Christ or allowed the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us. The closer and more integrated our walk with Christ is, the more these gifts become operative at home, at work, out in the community and in church. But what is the attitude or disposition from which we share those gifts? If I offer the gift of proclamation or prophecy and my motivation is frustration, anger or the desire to straighten people out more than it is to speak a word from the Lord that will bring people into line with God's purposes for them, then the gift has been compromised. If I share the gift of generosity or servanthood so that I can feel significant or have people bless me with deep thanks more than I desire to serve them so that their lives are blessed and enhanced, then the gift is compromised. The more love-motivated we are, the freer we become to share both our natural and spiritual gifts for the greatest impact. The more I read I Corinthians 13, the more I see I need the grace of God to make me the loving child of God I was meant to be.

One of the great disciplines of the church is called "an examination of conscience." It is not an invitation to guilt trips, but rather an invitation to see what is broken, what is wrongly focused and what needs to grow. If in reading this passage, I notice that I have been rude and unkind lately, it is good to ask why I was that way. Perhaps I was rude because the person, the comments or the situation exposed an insecurity or inadequacy in me and I reacted. That means something is broken or hurt and needs healed. If I notice that I have been "insisting on my own way" lately, what need for validation and the sense that I have to be right is feeding that? Something is either broken or misaligned and needs put right. At least for awhile, it might be good to review the Love Chapter about once a week to be sure that the way we share ourselves in life is healthy and Christ-like. And always remember that we are a work in progress. The ideals of this chapter are, in the end, unachievable on our own. But they become more and more a reality as we allow God to do His great work of grace in and through us. Have a great day in the love of Christ.