“Claim Your Meagerness”

My House can take it

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

First of all, Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts, which are distributed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4). Thus, one Christian may receive one type of gift while another receives a different gift. Chapter 13 goes one step further and mentions the three gifts that are common for all Christians: faith,hope, and love. Verse 13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

In stating that faith, hope, and love remain, Paul does something interesting and unexpected: he uses a singular verb for a compound (and therefore plural) subject. His statement in 1 Corinthians 13:13 could be literally rendered “faith, hope, and love remain.” Paul’s point is that, essentially, faith, hope, and love are united; what happens to one happens to all. And what happens is that they “remain.”

God chose to create man in His Own image, as an expression of Himself, and he expresses Himself differently through each individual that he has created. Each person represents God in a different and unique way. God's creation would be a less rich expression of Himself were even one person missing. He knew each one of us, and loved each one of us even before the dust of the universe formed our solar system. The hairs of our head were already numbered. He knew our thoughts, strengths, and weaknesses before anything was. You and I are very special in the heart of, and the plan of God.

And, we are all different. In all of the earth, nobody looks exactly like you, thinks exactly like you, is talented exactly like you. Search every nation, and your DNA will not be repeated. 

 Now it’s the start of October, the leaves on my maple tree are just beginning to get a little color. Autumn is upon us. I pulled three leaves from that sturdy shade tree that gives me so much comfort all summer, took a picture of them, and put them on this page. Click the picture to the left, and then the negative image to the lower right that reveals even more detail. Notice the infinite differences between these leaves, from size. to color, to veins, to markings, to points and indentations. These leaves, and thousands more from the same tree are all different. And so, it is with us. No two individuals are the same. And yet we have the same priceless value to God, and have that value no matter who we are, no matter our economic status, point in life, weight, stature, or our proclivity to stumble. God knows all about us, some of which may even disgust us, and yet loves us with a longing that never ends. 

Just recently my wife and I had a conversation about friends, neighbors and relatives who have died in the last six months. We grieved partly because each person’s fondness was relationally connected individuality; based on the uniqueness of a loving God, caring for people; which for us is part of the essentials for life. Think about it, friends are an important and wonderful part of life. In college, a former coach would often tell me, “Two things will most influence where you’ll be at ten years out of college: the books you read and the friends you make.” He added, “Choose them both very carefully!” Of course, that was long before Facebook came into existence, where you can “friend” just about everything and everyone you want without touching them with a “New Song”. Being a friend to the friendless is not a task we do. Well the truth of being a friend to the friendless is a soul-deep transformation, which compels us to surrender our lives side by side next to Jesus steps full of his character. Be prepared, because accepting this truth is also accepting the narrow road with many questions:

Do you Believe this is one of the greatest causes for unhappiness in our world today? Makes me wonder, “are we missing more healthy relationships that God intended for us to experience”? Which makes me think do, “the most miserable Christians live with a foot in both world?”

·       How can we be satisfied if our marriage relationships are unhealthy? 

·       How can we truly enjoy our relatives if we can’t get along with them? 

·       How can we enjoy our jobs if the relational climate at work is unhealthy? 

·       How can we love coming to church if people pretend to care about one another? 

·       How do we seek, recognize and respond to what Jesus is already doing in the lives of the people we are enjoying?

“Open your eyes and look, “for a reason

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. “Psalm 73:25 

Healthy relationships (perceived or your reality), canit be satisfaction? Can it be inseparable? It’s impossible to be satisfied if we are lonely...impossible if there is constant conflict...impossible if we do not feel valued or loved by those around us. Do you ever think back on your life and focus on some of the lowest emotional points and ask, “were the lack of Authentic? 

 relationships, the reason for the reason…that should be”? 

 No matter what becomes of us, no matter what we ever did, sometimes we think we can handle just about any circumstance even If our relationships are not right, “we fall apart fast”. WHY? Because just like the leaves we are infinitely different; we are designed for relationships! 

The conditional love of a parent, relative or friend is an awesome thing to behold. And yet, even that pales when compared to the God who knows us better than any human could, and still opens His arms to fold us in.

Whatever makes us unique, whether good or bad in the eyes of the world, does nothing to enhance of diminish the immeasurable love of God for us. Like a hound on the trail of a rabbit, he pursues us, draws us to Himself, enabling us to stand up and use our uniqueness to become what He intended. 

Claim your meagerness right now. Stop telling yourself that something about your uniqueness makes you less valuable than the next guy. You and I are unique. Accept the beauty of your uniqueness, and then--look out world. The next time you or someone else feels that your uniqueness is of little value, say "Excuse me, but do you know who my Father is, and who made me special?"

"Give me the heart to hear, Thy voice and will,

     That without fault or fear, I may fulfill

Thy purpose with a glad and holy zest,

     Like one who would not bring lass than his best"                
 

“To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.” 

Isaiah 40:25

Faith, hope, and love are the three gifts that will be ours throughout all eternity. And agape love is the ultimate gift. God in His goodness gives us the privilege of possessing these gifts today, and we look forward to having them remain with us forever.

Prayer: Father, show us every day the value of our uniqueness. We are ready to stand up and proclaim it, first to you and ourselves, and then to the world. Help us to see how we can use our special qualities to bless your world wherever we touch it to find people like this to serve. 

God Bless You and This Ministry!