September 22 Thought for the day...maturity and love

In all my years of ministry and the 100+ countries, I have traveled through I have learned one very important thing about God. God is love. While that might not be a world-shaking discovery, the practical application of God's love in the world is missing. Paul talks about that 1 Corinthians 13:1

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

There was a problem with the church in Corinth. Many people flowing in the gifts of the Spirit were being very "super-spiritual." The problem came when they put the "flowing" in the gifts ahead of the love of God!

"Noisy Gong" this doesn't give us the full explanation in English. It means something that continuously reverberates. Paul is talking about people who are like a nonstop clanging noise, a person who talked incessantly. He is referring to people who seem to flow in the gifts of the Spirit. However, their actions do not reflect God's love. They are all about them, not about the people around them or reaching the world for Christ.

"Clanging cymbal" refers to the clashing of cymbals the way the nation of Israel did as they prepared for war. Paul was referring to people who are so irritating that they make you want to get into a fight with them. We need to understand that Paul was referring to spirit-filled people. They loved the Lord were filled with His Spirit but were not fully mature.

God pours out His Spirit on all kinds of people who love Jesus. Maturity doesn't seem to be one of the qualities that are necessary for in-filling of the Holy Spirit just like it is not necessary for salvation. When people are caught up in the gifts and forget that love is the measure of the gifts they become either a non-stop talker or someone that is so irritating that you want to punch them.

The challenge for us is that if a person is this irritating to us, why are they that irritating? We need to check the love we are walking in, as well to make sure we are as mature as what we need to be. Paul writes about this in the middle of his explanation of the gifts of the Spirit. Our effectiveness in flowing in the gifts is only as powerful as the love we walk in. Over the next few days, we will be exploring this chapter a little more.