Expanding on a sermon I recently heard, 1 Corinthians 13,
famously known as the “love” chapter, tells us that love believes all things. I
had previously wondered what this meant until one of our pastors pointed out
that it is not a gullible and naïve belief but rather a kind of love that
believes the best in people, a task very difficult since indeed we are fallen
and wretched. This truth, however, was presented before me today when a man
needed help in a restaurant. He asked me if he could use my mobile phone to
place a call. I could have easily rejected him and for justifiable reasons.
Perhaps it wasn’t wise to let a stranger use my phone. What if he was making a
drug deal? The reasons could go on and on. Before I allowed him to use my
phone, however, I pondered how often I have been the man on the needy end of a
deal. Have I ever been the man in need of fuel at a gas station? Have I ever
needed to use a stranger’s phone? Many people have been fortunate to have never
dealt with these situations, but I definitely have. 1 Corinthians 13 came to my
mind during this moment, and I proceeded to allow this man to use my phone. He
didn’t make a drug deal, and he was very respectful. Besides putting this
passage into practice, I also realized how often we as Christians do not allow
God’s word to change our actions. We go to church and say, “Amen,” but yet we
leave and do not practice what the word then tells us to do. I am going to
begin making it a point not to be this way, and as I try and often fail
miserably, my prayer is that God would continuously change my life for his
glory.
