As I listened to a friend bare her soul, my heart grieved for her. Later my thoughts were weighed heavy for her. My prayers are earnest and full of tears for her. In those prayers I writhe in pain for her. My heart bleeds for her. My soul is in anguish for her. I struggle to find answers because of my own inadequacies, my own sin, my own struggles, my own pain.

And then Christ’s Spirit says to me, “You are carrying the sorrow for one. I carry the sorrows for all. The weight of this world’s sin, pain, sorrow, disease I bore on the cross for you, and for of you, and you, and you, and you, and you…”

How can He bear up under it? How can He carry it ALL?

I can’t solve it for one. How can He solve it for all?

He died for it ALL–a criminal’s death (Luke 19)–from the beginning of mankind until the end.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you were straying like sheep,

but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

I Peter 2:24-25 

I am humbled that my friend would bear her soul to me. I am more humbled to point her to the Christ, who bore it all.

“Surely He has borne our griefs


And carried our sorrows;


Yet we esteemed Him stricken,


Smitten by God, and afflicted.


But He was wounded for our transgressions,


He was bruised for our iniquities;


The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,


And by His stripes we are healed.


All we like sheep have gone astray;


We have turned, every one, to his own way;


And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors.”

Isaiah 53:4-11

I awoke this morning with the below verses on my mind. Why God? What are you saying to me?

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues,  they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

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

I Corinthians 13

As a people in our culture, we have many opportunities, from education, to making wealth, to promotion, to leisure, to even good deeds through philanthropic opportunities, and the list goes on and on. Through hard work and determination, we have many opportunities. That’s the American way, right? But is it God’s way?

These verses speak of a more excellent way in one simple word, “LOVE.”  As you can see above, the fruit of this “love” is patience, kindness, and honoring others; no pride, envying, boastfulness, or self-seeking ways; not easily angered or keeping record of wrongs; delights with the truth; always protects, trusts, hopes & perseveres. This love never fails.

The Matthew Henry Commentary says, “…this type of love excels the best of gifts and other graces, by its  continuance, when other gifts and graces are no longer of any use…,” as mentioned in the above.

You get that?

The author of I Corinthians, Paul, is telling the Corinthians in this 13th chapter that this love will out last supernatural gifts like prophecy, tongues, and even basic knowledge (gifts on which the early Christians prided themselves in, to the utter neglect of love.)

In our culture today, what are those things that we pride ourselves in to the utter neglect of love? Education, wealth, promotion, philanthropy, leisure…  Do we neglect our marriages, children, families, and friends for the pursuit of these things?

I think education is a good and admirable. Wealth can be used greatly to help others. Promotion is often from God. And leisure and rest are needed. But these pursuits can become our “gods,” if we’re not careful. Loving our families and others can often take the back seat to these pursuits.

The above verses end with, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” When all is said and done, will it be said that faith, hope and mostly love dominated our lives?

These verses remind me of my life verse, “…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37 Until my dieing day, I will always be venturing to live out this verse.

Life is short! What will you pursue above all else?

God is saying to me today that the surest offspring of God is love. Love bears its most favorable impression of God. For God is love. And where God is to be seen as He is, and face to face, there love is in its greatest height—there, and there only, will it be perfected.

Recommended Affiliate Links:

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (with Cross-References) 

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live.