Do Everything in Love

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

The Apostle Paul wrote these exhortations to the Corinthian church, but they are just as important today as they were in Paul’s day. The Church must take heed. The world is filled with evil, people are lost and the devil is working overtime to discourage the Church in her task of spreading the gospel.

Be on your guard. The Apostle Peter reminds us the devil is our enemy and he “prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.” We cannot underestimate the power of Satan. Watch out for his deception. He wants to divide the Church and weaken her witness.

Stand firm in the faith. The best way to stand firm in the faith is to be in the company of others who also are standing firm. A soldier doesn’t fight battles alone. He fights beside his comrades. Soldiers have one goal-defeat the enemy. Soldiers are trained so they know how to win against their foes. The Christian soldier must train often by studying the handbook, the Bible.  The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that a good soldier doesn’t get involved in civilian affairs because he wants to please his commanding officer. (See 2 Timothy 2:4) The Church marches to the command of Christ and not the demands of culture. We can’t give up or become distracted by the world. So many people need Jesus.

Be men (and women) of courage. Today, more than ever, we must be courageous.  When we proclaim the truth of God we may be accused of hate speech, or infringing on someone’s rights. Our own rights may be at risk if we don’t accept everyone’s belief and lifestyle. The Church must be courageous in standing against sin and the lies of Satan. We must use our voice to express the truth of God’s Word. “. . . God our Savior . . . wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Be strong. Ephesians 6:10 says, “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” God knows our mortal strength is not enough to resist the forces of evil so He provides the armor: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel of peace, and the shield of faith. In addition, we have the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As we read on in Ephesians 6 notice how many times pray or prayer is mentioned-5 times. Our strength comes from God, but do we spend time in prayer asking for it? We are in a spiritual battle. The forces of evil are strong but God is stronger. First John 4:4 reminds us that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Jesus gives us the Spirit to guide and strength us in this spiritual warfare. Sometimes I think we spend too little time praying about our concerns and too much time complaining about them. There is strength in prayer!

Then Paul says, “Do everything in love.”  I like to think about these things that Paul has encouraged Christians to do as all the ingredients in a banana split or big ice cream sundae. Then cover the whole thing with luscious whipped cream! It’s what makes everything else taste so good. That’s the love. Does the world see the church doing everything in love?