LOVE NEVER FAILS

By ''tongues of angels'' the apostle Paul may mean a language more sublime than any language spoken or known by human beings, like the language which he heard when he was caught up to the third heaven and heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:4). ''Tongues of angels'' may also mean the foreign languages which those who were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke on the day of Pentecost. In any case, speaking any language, however sublime and however much above human understanding it may be, is like sounding brass or clanging cymbals without love. These are very simple, basic, cheap musical instruments, and the rhythm they produce is the simplest possible, so they don't move anyone. So, fantastic eloquence and sublime language, however exalted, are like the simplest and cheapest musical instruments, if they are without love.

The apostle Paul is not speaking here about the understandable languages which God gave to His apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), but about unintelligible languages which people in the Corinthian church were speaking. The apostle Paul says about them: ''For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries... I wish you all to spoke with tongues, but I even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying or by teaching? Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?... Yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.... Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?'' (1 Corinthians 14:2,5-7,19,23).

So tongues, however lofty, if they are unintelligible, they do not move nor stimulate anyone who listens to them. But a word of instruction edifies.

The Corinthians were uttering words unintelligible to anyone. And in uttering them, their sentiments were devoid of love. The reason is that they were proud of their gift towards others. So their barbaric words gave no blessing to the hearers. On the contrary, they were just a source of personal self-exaltation, for love was absent from them.

When someone has little love, he will be concerned with God's gift to him and forget the Giver. In the same way a child who gets a gift takes it from his father and runs away with it without thanking him, because the child is more concerned with the gift than with the father who gave it. But a child's way of thinking is simple. In the same way we find many people who are more concerned with their spiritual gifts than with the Giver of the gifts. However, love is more important than the gifts, because love unites us with the Lord of the gifts and makes us use the gifts in the best way, in readiness to serve others. But if we concentrate on the gift itself without loving the Giver and without regard for the purpose for which He gave it to us, our gift will be like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, no matter how exalted it may seem in our or anyone's eyes!

When someone has little love, he will be proud because of God's gift to him. Feeling his pride, the other believers keep away from him. In this situation his gift does not build. It destroys. Instead of uniting, it separates. This is why the gift is useless without love.

There were orators in the early church who proclaimed the Gospel and preached Christ out of envy, contentiousness and factionalism. They were insincere, supposing that they could stir up trouble for the apostle Paul (Philippians 1:15-16). They were teachers and their rhetoric was convincing, but their motives were devoid of love. So they were nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. However, the apostle Paul explained what he felt about the work of such teachers, saying: ''What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ'' (Philippians 1:18,19). This is the most eloquent love, more exalted than any rhetoric!

The apostle Paul defined prophecy thus: ''He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men'' (1 Corinthians 14:3). Prophecy is not only foretelling the future, but it is teaching and exhortation for people. In the chapter of love, the apostle affirms that prophecy without love is nothing. For the one who exhorts must love those whom he exhorts. The one who foretells a future blessing must love those to whom he foretells it. The one who foretells a future punishment must announce it with every compassion towards those who are to be punished, as Jeremiah said: ''Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people'' (Jeremiah 9:1).

Knowledge as a gift is the knowledge of deep spiritual secrets which we preach about. Prophecy and knowledge are connected, for the one who knows mysteries is the one who will teach them in preaching. The greatest mystery which reveals God's love towards us is ''the mystery of godliness'' (1 Timothy 3:16). God loved the world so much that He came into our world in the flesh, in Christ, in order to manifest His love to us and to take away from us the punishment for our sin, offering Himself up as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. How can God love sinful mankind all that much? This is a heavenly mystery, but its proof is the incarnation of Christ.

There is another great mystery: God has chosen us Gentiles to share the heritage of all those of the chosen Jewish people who accepted Christ. This is ''the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him'' (Romans 16:25-26). So, the Gentiles have become fellow inheritors, because God so loved the whole world.

The psalmist tells us: ''The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him'' (Psalm 25:14). God declares the secrets of His kingdom to those who confide in Him, because He loves them and they love Him. If anyone knew all the secrets of heaven and taught them without having a heart full of love, he would be nothing. The Jewish religious leaders knew all the secrets of the prophecies of the coming of Christ and His birth in Bethlehem from a virgin. And when they were asked about the place where He was to be born, they answered correctly, quoted the prophecy about it, and specified where it was found in the Torah (Matthew 2:5-6). However, not one of them set out to go to Bethlehem in order to see the Saviour born in the town of David and longed for by all the nations. As for those who loved God, they came from the most far-away countries to search for Him, and they offered Him gifts.

We read about a prophet called Balaam in the Old Testament. He said: ''The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High'' (Numbers 24:15,16). Balaam declared the oneness of God, he was from the homeland of Abraham, the friend of God, and his reputation was so widespread that people came to him from all over so that he could foretell their future and bless them and their purchases. His heart, however, had no love for the people of God. It was full of the love of money, for King Balak hired him to curse the children of Israel. When he was unable to do so because God hindered him, he advised the king to ensnare them to worship idols and engage in unclean acts. He ended up being killed by the sword (Numbers 31:16). The apostle Peter described the people who go astray like this: ''They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness'' (2 Peter 2:15). So the prophet Balaam became nothing, because his heart was devoid of love.

Also in the New Testament we read about a prophecy from a prophet with a heart devoid of love. The Gospel describes him in this way: ''And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, `You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.' Now he did not say this on his own authority, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad'' (John 11:49-52). Caiaphas foretold the death of Christ for the whole world, and his prophecy was true, but he was devoid of love, for Caiaphas plotted with the other Jewish leaders to have Christ crucified.

There may be a great preacher whose heart is devoid of love. He may even be able to make a message of God's love reach a person who needs it. People are not influenced, however, by the great eloquence by which he proclaims his prophecy and his knowledge if he has no love. For without love we cannot come close to God, and we cannot bring people close to God.

Love is greater than prophecy and knowledge because it comes at a time when we need neither exhortation nor knowledge, but it never comes at a time when we do not need love. The Gospel describes the time when we do not need exhortation in the words of the writer of the book of Hebrews: ''For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbour, and none his brother, saying, `Know the LORD', for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them'' (Hebrews 8:10,11).

In 10th century Egypt (AD), during the Fatimid reign, a Jewish minister went to the Caliph saying: ''It is written in the Gospel of the Christians that if someone has faith like a mustard seed, he can move a mountain.'' So the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz Billah challenged the Egyptian Patriarch and asked him if it was true that this verse was found in the Gospel. When the Patriarch confirmed that it was found in Matthew 21:22, the Caliph asked the Patriarch to move Mount Moqattam. God heard the prayer of faith. He moved the mountain! The results were great.

There is intellectual faith which knows what is written in the Bible, which knows how to answer difficult religious questions, and which knows how to solve problems of interpretation. However, it is the faith of a knowledgeable mind, not the faith of a serene heart. It is like the faith of the unclean spirits who believe and shudder, but do not undergo any change (James 2:19).

Love is greater than miracle-working faith. Faith performs a great miracle (as, for instance, moving Mount Moqattam) once in every age, whereas love is in action every day. That is why love is greater than faith.

The apostle Paul does not diminish the importance of faith, nor does he reduce the value of a miracle, but he reminds us that love is indispensable and necessary every day. Faith that moves mountains causes astonishment, but love breaks a hard heart. A person may be astonished without believing, just like the Jewish elders were astonished at the raising of Lazarus after he had been dead for four days and could not deny that Christ had performed the miracle. But it only made them think about how they could kill Lazarus in order to do away with the proof of Christ's power and authority! So a miracle does not move the heart which has been dazzled by it, but it helps the heart which loves God and increases its faith!

In Exodus 7:11-12 we read about how Moses threw his stick down and it turned into a snake. However, the Egyptian sorcerers also threw their sticks down and they turned into snakes. This was a miracle. In the same chapter in verses 20 and 22 we read about how Moses changed water into blood and how the sorcerers imitated him. The difference between Moses' miracle and that of the sorcerers is that there was love in that of Moses, because it proclaimed God's concern for His people. As for Pharaoh's sorcerers, they performed their miracle in order to destroy that of Moses, to extinguish the proof of God, because their hearts, devoid of love as they were, wanted to keep their slaves. As for God's miracle, it is one which sets the captive free. How big the difference between the two! To people like Pharaoh's sorcerers Christ says: ''Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!''' (Matthew 7:21-23).

Many people give without love. They are motivated by a desire to receive praise from others and by pride in themselves. A man may also give out of a sense of obligation. How great, however, is the difference between something given out of vanity or compulsion and something given out of love! In Mark 12:41-44 we read, ''Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Him, and said to them, `Assuredly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had, her whole livelihood.''' For the Lord sees how and in which spirit the gift is given, and He only appreciates true giving, giving out of love.

''Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor'' without having love, may benefit the poor but the giver himself will receive nothing from God!

''Though I give my body to be burned'' - there are people who do surrender their bodies to the flames for the love of God, as Nebuchadnezzar saw the three young men do, saying: ''Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's words and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God'' (Daniel 3:28). For the Lord saved the bodies of the three young men from the fire because they had surrendered them for the love of God. There are others, however, who surrender their bodies to be burned because they hate people, like the crusaders who died, burned alive whilst killing and shedding blood, although Christ's weapon was the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word (Ephesians 6:17). They did this in spite of His word: ''All who take the sword will perish by the sword'' (Matthew 26:52).

In these three verses, the apostle Paul has taught us that love is the greatest of all, be it gifts, prophecy, teaching, faith, miracles, zeal and fervor.

Our primary spiritual problem is our lack of order in our priorities. Our first priority should be love, then gifts, prophecy, and knowledge, and after these faith and miracles, followed by zeal and fervor.

May God teach us to love, not only those who love us, but also those who do evil against us, as Christ loved us and surrendered Himself for our sakes.

Heavenly Father, you have taught us love in your word and in Christ, because you are love. You have loved us enemies, because when we were still sinners, Christ died for us. By the virtue of His atonement you forgave all our sins and made us fellow heirs with Christ. We ask you to make our life a life of love so that we may live the song of love with all our heart and mind, and love in the way you love. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Many people complain about their spouse, their children, their boss at work, their business partner or their neighbour. And when you advise them not to return evil for evil, they object.

I will mention three objections to long-suffering and kindness and then present answers to them.

O, Lord of patience and kindness, teach me to be long-suffering and kind as you are towards me. You bore with me until I opened my heart to you. Help me to bear with those who do evil against me, for your sake as well as for their sake, so that we may possess our souls in our patience. Help me to have faith expressing itself through love. Forgive me my grumbling and annoyance, and bring me to repent before you that I may love you and those whom you love, so that we may be disciples of Jesus. In His name, hear our prayer. Amen.

When David had killed Goliath, the women of Israel cheered: ''Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.'' This annoyed King Saul, so he said: ''They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me but thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?'' (1 Samuel 18:7-8).

David did in fact kill tens of thousands, so the enemies fled leaving the people of God in peace for a long time. Saul did not even kill thousands, for the enemies stood still before him for forty days, mocking and ridiculing him and his God, and Saul could do nothing! The songs of praise were true as far as David was concerned and they honoured Saul more than necessary. Nevertheless, the envy in Saul's soul prevented him from being happy at the victory. The result of his envy was that he destroyed himself, for he left his castle, his throne and his royal sceptre to pursue David and to kill him. David was just a soldier in King Saul's army. The throne was Saul's, but he was so sick with envy in his heart that he always grumbled, destroying his own life and making his people miserable as he was trying in vain to scare David. At last, Saul committed suicide and David became king. If Saul had been able to think logically, he would have considered David an instrument of God. He was a soldier among others and the Lord gave victory by his hands. But envy blinded Saul's eyes from the truth.

As a contrast to Saul we see David giving thanks. Love gives thanks and does not grumble. David says: ''Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's'' (Psalm 103:1-5). So let us shift our view from looking at what others have and give thanks for what we ourselves have. Then we shall always be at peace, protected from the sin of envy.

In the book of Numbers we read the evil result which befell Korah's sons when they envied Moses and Aaron their ministry. ''Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, `You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?''' (Numbers 16:1-3).

When we consider this complaint, we see that half of what they said was true, for the congregation was in fact holy because the Lord was in its midst. But the other half was wrong: ''Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?'' For God Himself had appointed Moses and Aaron as leaders of His people. They had not appointed themselves, for God had called them, installed them and sent them to Pharaoh. He used them to bless His people and release them from bondage. Korah's sons ought to have been sensible enough to give thanks for the blessing God had given them and their people through Moses and Aaron. However, the envy that filled their hearts put an end to their blessing, even to their life, as the earth cracked open and swallowed them up with all they had, so that they fell down into hell alive (Numbers 16:31)!

The most striking example of envy is the envy which the Jewish leaders harboured against Christ. He came to be their Saviour, the One whom generations had been waiting for, fulfilling the prophecies. However, they refused and turned Him over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to be crucified. After Pilate had investigated their accusations he knew that Christ was innocent and that they had handed Him over out of envy (Matthew 27:18). They were envious of Him because the people followed Him out of love for Him. They expressed their confidence in Him by shouting, ''Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'' ''Hosanna'' means ''Save, O Lord!'' This is a prayer as well as an expression of joy and salutation at Christ's coming. The Jewish elders said to each other: ''You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!'' (John 12:19). They decided to kill Him and as they did not have the authority to carry it out, they sought Pilate's help for that.

It was a strange thing with them! They ought to have been overjoyed at Christ, the mighty teacher and miracle-worker, the awaited Messiah. But their hearts were devoid of love, filled with envy, and so they handed Him over to Pilate.

How big the difference between them and John the Baptist, who loved God and Christ and who witnessed that Christ was ''the lamb of God''. He led his disciples to follow Christ, saying about Him: ''He must increase, but I must decrease'' (John 3:30). Truly, love does not envy.

A splendid example of love rejoicing in what is good for others is the love of Jonathan, the son of king Saul, for David. When David had killed Goliath, ''Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armour, even to his sword and his bow and his belt'' (1 Samuel 18:3-4). When Saul envied David and wanted to kill him, Jonathan warned David of the plot and defended David before his father (1 Samuel 19:3; 20:32). Jonathan asked David to be good to his offspring when he had come to power (1 Samuel 20:15). Jonathan really loved David and rejoiced at the salvation God granted His people through David, even though it was against Jonathan's own interests.

Love rejoices at that which increases the common good because it knows that a man does not increase when others decrease. The book of Daniel tells us about the honour bestowed on Daniel during the reign of king Darius: ''It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, `We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God''' (Daniel 6:1-5).

Did these leaders not know that Daniel's success was not his alone, but the whole country's and theirs as well? They ought to have been thankful for a prime minister so intelligent, virtuous and trustworthy that all the affairs of the state were conducted successfully and peacefully. But envy made them blind, so that they saw nothing in Daniel but the leader occupying an honourable position of responsibility which they reckoned themselves more worthy of. So they set up a plot against him. However, the Lord rescued him from it (Daniel 6).

When a man loves his God, he loves his fellow human beings as well. When people love, their hearts are filled with peace flowing from heaven like the peace that overflowed Christ's heart when He was on His way to the cross and said to His disciples: ''Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid'' (John 14:27).

The one who envies, however, destroys his peace of mind, for he is always aspiring to what others have, neglecting to be thankful for what he himself has. How beautiful the apostolic advice: ''Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection'' (Colossians 3:12-15).

Compare Joseph's peace of mind when he honoured his father and his brothers, with the anxiety raging in his brothers' hearts when they said to each other: ''We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us'' (Genesis 42:21). Compare also Joseph's peace of mind at his return from his father's funeral, who had been shown full honour, and the anxiety of Joseph's brothers which threatened to tear their chests apart when they said: ''Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him'' (Genesis 50:15). These words show us that anxiety was latent within their souls, giving their hearts no rest all the time they stayed in Egypt and their father was still alive.

Love gives peace, envy stirs up anxiety! So let us ask God to let His love dominate our hearts, His love which ''does not envy''.

Our Father, we thank you for giving and honouring us in abundance and for never letting us be put to shame. Grant us that we may see how you have opened your hand and satisfied us with good things. Make our hearts overflow with the joy of your Holy Spirit, that we may rejoice at yourself and your gifts. Make your love grow in us. Take away all envy from within us, and grant that we may honour our belonging to you by our life and our efforts, in order that we may live the life of the faith we profess. In the name of Christ. Amen.

We may live the ''life of the flesh'' or the ''life of the Spirit''. The flesh fights against the Spirit and resists it so strongly that we do what we do not want to do. Therefore, the apostle counsels us to ''walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh'' (Galatians 5:16). So we see that love does not boast because the Holy Spirit controls it, as the apostle Paul says: ''Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit'' (Romans 8:5). This love, which is subjected to the Holy Spirit, does not behave according to the flesh, which parades itself.

The flesh was behind King Nebuchadnezzar's behaviour. This poor man said: ''Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty?'' (Daniel 4:30). It was not Nebuchadnezzar himself who built Babylon and he did not pay the building expenses out of his own pocket, but he enjoyed the fruits of the efforts of the people who paid tribute and the drawings, foundations and building works undertaken by the well-qualified architects and engineers.

The flesh was also behind the behaviour of Salome, the mother of John and James, the two sons of Zebedee, for she asked Christ: ''Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom'' (Matthew 20:21). The Lord did not promise her anything of what she requested; however, the other disciples became indignant at her request as though Christ had actually granted what she had requested! In her request and the disciples' indignation we see how proud Salome was of her two sons, and how proud and conceited the other disciples were, as they must have reckoned themselves to be greater than the two sons of Zebedee! Perhaps each of them was saying to himself: Now, if John and James sit at His right and His left, where will I sit?! Christ said to all of them: ''Can you go through the baptism I am going to go through?'' Jesus' baptism meant that His whole life was one of humility and love, and this is the life He intends for us when we are baptised, because He is gentle and humble in heart.

The flesh was also behind the dispute between the disciples as to which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24). They thought that the kingdom of Christ was a political, earthly one. But Christ corrected this way of thinking, which belongs to sinful nature, telling them: ''He who is greatest among you let him be like the younger, and he who governs as he who serves... I am among you as the One who serves'' (Luke 22:26-27).

It is clear that mankind according to its usual way of thinking tends towards boasting and pride. People glory in their families, considering them to be the best in the world, and in themselves, considering themselves to be the best of the family members! Love, on the other hand, is a heavenly lifestyle, therefore it does not boast nor is it proud.

The ancient people of God were tempted to boast after the Exodus, so the Lord warned them, saying: ''The LORD did not set His love on you and choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments'' (Deuteronomy 7:7-9).

God chose His people because they were smaller than the other nations, in order to safeguard their humility. Therefore Moses forbade them to boast and commanded them to be humble, teaching them to say: ''My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labour and our oppression (Deuteronomy 26:5-7).

Abraham did wander and he came to Egypt seeking refuge there. When he felt oppressed there, he cried to the Lord and He rescued him. It was neither his position nor his strength nor his human way of thinking that rescued him (Genesis 12:10-20). This restrains believers who value God's grace from boasting.

God repeated His warning to His people against boasting by the words of the prophet Isaiah: ''Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug'' (Isaiah 51:1). By ''the rock'' He means Abraham, the friend of God, and by ''the hole of the pit'' He means Sarah. For Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah 89 when she became pregnant with Isaac. She had no hope of childbearing at her age, but against all human hope God fulfilled His promise to His friend Abraham (Romans 4:18). Thus Isaiah said that God cut Himself a people from ''the rock'' and ''the hole of the pit''. So there is no place for pride here, only for humility before God who works such miracles that Abraham ''was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God'' (Romans 4:20).

Christ also warned Peter from being over-confident when He told him that he would deny Him three times (Luke 22:24).

Christ must have had a feeling that His disciples would be tempted to boast that He had chosen them to be His disciples, for He told them: ''You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain'' (John 15:16). This means that the merit is for the grace which grafted the branch to the vine and nourished it with its generous sap so that it bore fruit. We notice that the branch which does not bear fruit raises its head, whereas it bows down when the fruit makes it heavy. Those that boast are those that bear little fruit!

Man's nature is sinful, he is dust from the earth. Man is also spirit, a breath from God. Dust cannot grow proud, because when it breathes out it returns to dust. So let us repeat with the apostle Paul: ''If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's'' (Romans 14:8). For loving the Lord makes us understand that we live and move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28), so that we return the credit to Him to whom it belongs and offer glory to Him who alone is worthy of glory.

We ought to appreciate ourselves correctly, as the apostle Paul said: ''For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith'' (Romans 12:3).

Two good examples of people who thought soberly of themselves are Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes and David the psalmist. Jacob said to God: ''I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, but now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him lest he come and attack me'' (Genesis 32:10-11). Jacob acknowledges that when he had crossed the Jordan River, he had nothing but his staff. But when he came back, he had two armies with him, and the credit goes back to God. However, the two armies might be lost in a moment and taken or killed by Esau. So Jacob acknowledges his unworthiness and need of God's help.

The prophet of God, David, also prayed: ''Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that you have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know your servant. For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done these great things, to make Your servant know them. Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears'' (2 Samuel 7:18-22). David acknowledges that he used to be a mere shepherd whom God had made king. For love does not boast, as it acknowledges the merit of Him who gave the gift.

The first beatitude says: ''Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'' (Matthew 5:3). They are the ones who understand by the spirit that what they have is not earned by any merit on their part but it is a free gift from the Lord.

How can we boast and become proud when we know that our love of God and our service to Him are nothing compared to His love for us and the blessings He grants us? How can we boast and become proud when we know that we are negligent about God's and people's rights? Therefore Christ says: ''So, likewise, you, when you have done all those things which you were commanded, say, `We are unprofitable servants; we have done what was our duty to do''' (Luke 17:10).

No one can do all he ought to do according to his beliefs. Even if he could, he must confess that he is nothing but an unworthy servant who has done nothing worth mentioning, and that would be a correct appreciation, not false humility. For all of our financial contributions come from what God gives us, and all the works we undertake we can only do by the health and energy God gives us. Everything we have is from His grace towards us, a gratuitous gift from God, to whom be all glory. Every time our love for God increases, we increase in grace, and every time we advance in grace we discover that our standard is lower than the divine standard demanded from us, which is ''the whole measure of the fulness of Christ''. So let us strive and not give up. There is never any place for pride. There is only place for running towards the goal, struggling against sin, resisting to the point of shedding our own blood (Hebrews 12:4). The Gospel tells us about a centurion who did much good, but who saw that he only did his duty. So he did not boast but humbled himself, because his heart was overflowing with love for God and His people. The Jewish elders told Jesus ''that the one for whom He should do this was worthy, `for he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue''' (Luke 7:4-5). He himself, however, said to Christ: ''I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof'' (Luke 7:6). Love understands the limitations of what it gives, so it does not boast nor does it become proud.

Let us bow down before God in a spirit of humility, aware of our sins and shortcomings, and let us then partake of his unlimited love, which is like an ocean overflowing with grace. And let us strive so that His name is exalted and the earth filled with His glory.

Lord, teach me the love that does not boast and does not become proud, for what do I have which does not come from your generous hand? I thank you for graciously choosing me, which is something you have done solely because it pleased you to do so. Teach me by the example of Christ, the most exalted example of love and humility, who said: ''For I am gentle and lowly in heart,'' and who submitted Himself and obeyed unto death, the death on the cross. Grant me humility and gentleness of heart. Remove from my heart all traces of boasting, pride and conceit. Grant that I may walk in the steps of our dear, beloved Saviour. Hear me in His name, I pray. Amen.

The apostle Paul speaks about how believers should behave in love, saying, ''Therefore, be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks'' (Ephesians 5:1-4).

Foolish talking and coarse jesting are rude and obscene, and not only should these things not be practised, nor should they be mentioned, ''let it not even be named among you.'' For when a person addresses someone else in an improper manner, he distorts the other's image in front of people, and moreover, he disgraces himself as well! The tongue which is controlled by the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, speaks nothing but blessings to others. Foolish talking and coarse jesting which is improper is usually scornful towards others, because they are different in the way they look or dress or their knowledge or their way of speaking. This is always a behaviour which has nothing to do with love, for someone who mocks and jokes makes himself and his friends laugh at the expense of the dignity of someone else, because he ridicules that which he considers to be a point of weakness in the other person.

The apostle Paul gives this advice to the Colossians: ''But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him'' (Colossians 3:8-10). God has changed us and renewed us to be in accordance with the image of the loving Creator, who has encouraged all people.

There is a fantastic discourse on the tongue in the letter of James, the letter of practical life: ''If any one does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body... For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing... Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig-tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh'' (James 3:2,7-12).

In the natural world we do not find a spring that gives both fresh and salt water at the same time, and neither an olive tree nor a grape vine can produce figs. But one and the same tongue (sadly enough) produces contradictory statements! One and the same mouth blesses God and curses people. The apostle James comments on this saying, ''My brethren, these things ought not to be so'' (verse 10). For love does not speak rudely but always speaks words of encouragement, and it only reproaches in order to build up and restore, but never in a rude manner. So if we would apply this rule to how we speak at home, what would we find? Usually we speak nicely when we are not at home and pull ourselves together when we receive visitors. But we usually release our tempers when alone with our families as though we had spent all our funds of love outside, having nothing left for our families but grumbling, reproaches and coarse talking! We behave like this although we have endless funds of wisdom, grace and sweet words with God, from which we can take all we and our community need!

I will quote two examples of encouraging words from the Old Testament, one to a virtuous wife and the other to a virtuous husband, both of whom give words of encouragement to their spouse: The angel of the Lord appeared to the Manoah's wife, who was sterile, declaring to her that she would bear a son (who would be the judge Samson), whom God would make the saviour of His people. She told her husband about this. Manoah prayed for the angel to reappear. God answered his prayer and the angel appeared a second time to his wife, who hurried to tell Manoah. The two spouses spoke with the angel about the son they were going to have and his future. After that, the angel left and returned to heaven in the flame of the altar of burnt offerings. Some time passed when the angel did not appear, so Manoah became afraid and said to his wife: ''We shall surely die, because we have seen God!'' So his wife reassured him, saying, ''If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time'' (Judges 13:22-23). How beautiful are the words of this wife! She did not mock her husband for not understanding, but reassured and encouraged him, giving him supporting evidence that God had accepted their offerings and spoken to them. In her love, she neither behaved rudely nor scolded her weak, fearful husband. She behaved according to the apostolic advice: ''Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers'' (Ephesians 4:29).

The other example is of a husband who encourages his wife. Hannah was sterile. This was not due to any defect of Elkanah's, her husband, for Penina, Elkanah's other wife, had children with Elkanah. Hannah was crying and praying, asking God to give her offspring. Years went by without any answer to these prayers, but in the midst of her suffering, her virtuous husband was encouraging her, saying: ''Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?'' (1 Samuel 1:8). God then did show His generosity to Hannah and Elkanah granting them offspring, the first of whom was Samuel, who became a judge and a prophet of Israel.

When God's Spirit controls our lives, He gives us blessed fruit, the first of which is love (Galatians 5:22). The apostle Paul says: ''For the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all those things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: 'Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light''' (Ephesians 5:9-14). There are evil deeds done by the believer before he came to know Christ. It is improper for him to keep doing them after he has risen from his death of sin and Christ's light has shone on him, because ''if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new'' (2 Corinthians 5:17). So rudeness no longer has a place in the life of the believer - or so it ought to be.

How often we see ugliness and rudeness swallowing beauty around us. But the final victory is for love, because it does not behave rudely.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saw in a dream seven cows coming up out of the river, fine looking and fat. They fed in the meadow. Then seven other cows came up after them from the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. The ugly gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows (Genesis 41:2-4).

What Pharaoh saw happens with us today. We see ugliness eating up the beautiful. We may have a fine friend, with whom we had a long, gratifying fellowship, but one mistake may destroy this friendship. We forget the fine days and remember the one fault. You spend your days doing good, and one mistake wipes out all the goodness. Ugliness eats up beauty!

Only love that does not behave rudely conquers ugliness and stands by the fine people and things of life. Love is like Moses' rod. When Moses cast down his rod before Pharaoh it became a serpent. The magicians of Egypt did likewise. But Moses' rod swallowed up their rods (Exodus 7:10-12). The rod of truth swallowed up the rods of falseness and rudeness.

The grace of Christ performs a miracle of beauty in us when we accept it. It demolishes the rudeness of sin. One of the meanings of the word ''grace'' is ''the beauty of life.'' Jesus bestows beauty of life on those who accept His salvation.

When Jesus was on trial He heard Peter's triple denial. These were words of rudeness. What was the reaction of Jesus? Luke says, ''The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord... Then Peter went out and wept bitterly'' (Luke 22:61-62). Jesus' look to Peter was not a look of rebuke, sarcasm or gloating. It must have been full of love and sympathy. This is why it broke Peter's heart to repent. After Jesus rose from the dead He gave Peter and his colleagues a great catch of fish after a long night of fruitless fishing. Then Jesus asked Peter, ''Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?'' In embarrassment Peter answered, ''Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.''

The love of Jesus healed Peter's denial. It inspired him to follow Jesus. It motivated him to the life of piety.

Forgive us, Father, for the rude words that our lips spoke which hurt the feelings of others, and disturbed our consciences. Bless us in our homes and in our relations with our families and neighbours. Help us love all those with whom we deal. Help us speak edifying words to them. Even when they make mistakes help us to treat them the way Jesus treated the denying Peter, so that we walk in the steps of our beloved Saviour who inspires us to follow Him, and encourages us to live the life of piety.

We are weak and you are our strength. Control us with your Spirit so we can obey and live the life of love which does not behave rudely and never fails. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In Christ's name. Amen.

The soul which enjoys God's mercy and forgiveness will be merciful and forgiving to others as a result, and will seek the others' good. Every time God's mercy enters into a human soul, mercy moves from this soul into others.

How beautiful the words of the psalmist: ''The steps of the good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed'' (Psalm 37:23-26). Verses 23-25 speak about the love of the Lord and His support of the believer and how He satisfies him and his offspring with good things. The reaction of the believer consists in showing mercy all day and lending, and his offspring will be a blessing because the Lord has already in the past shown mercy and kindness towards him.

The same thing which the psalmist describes in Psalm 37 is contained in the words of the apostle Paul: ''Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do'' (Colossians 3:12-13).

Love is generous. It gives without expecting anything in return. We have many examples of this, among others one which may be difficult to apply today. It happened in the early church and is described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles: ''Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need'' (Acts 2:44-45). There was no one who was in need, because those who had gave to those who did not have. In chapter 4 of the same book, we read: ''Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need'' (Acts 4:33-35). The same chapter presents a person to be emulated, Joses who was known as Barnabas, which means ''a person who encourages others''. He was a Levite from Cyprus and ''having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet'' (Acts 4:36-37).

This is an example of generous love, which gives all it has and gives in abundance. However, this having all things in common in the church of Jerusalem did not continue, because it was a consuming, not a producing church. When its capital was used up, it was stricken with poverty. Therefore, the apostle Paul teaches us: ''If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat'' (2 Thessalonians 3:10). To the elders of the church of Ephesus, he says: ''You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who were with me'' (Acts 20:34). Paul worked as a tent-maker to support himself and those who were with him.

The mutual love of the members of the first church was great, as they offered up all they had to God and each other. And since most of them expected Christ's second coming within their lifetime, they sold their belongings for the mutual benefit. However, no one can predict the time of Christ's second coming, so let us work and strive honestly, fulfilling the apostolic commandment: ''Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have some thing to give him who has need'' (Ephesians 4:28).

So come, let us love our generous God, that we might be generous like Him, because ''He who sows to his flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith'' (Galatians 6:8-10). For the love you have received from God is a blessing and you have enjoyed divine generosity which does not seek its own good but that of others. And the one who is satisfied pours out on others of the generosity of heaven. ''Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased'' (Hebrews 13:16).

The Lord seeks our spiritual good. He searches for us as the good shepherd searches for the one lost sheep until he finds it. This Good Shepherd never stops searching for you in order to restore your soul and lead you into the paths of righteousness for His name's sake (Psalm 23:3). ''For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost'' (Luke 19:10).

The most eloquent example of love seeking that of others is the attitude of the apostle Paul towards the Jews who harassed and opposed him, who had previously crucified Christ and now wanted to stop the preaching of the Gospel. Even the Jews who accepted the message of Christ wanted to stop the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The apostle Paul expressed his feelings towards them saying: ''I tell you the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh'' (Romans 9:1-3). He wanted to be banned from salvation if this ban could lead to the conversion of the Jews and their salvation.

Have you sacrificed anything for the sake of Christ, something that led someone else to get to know Christ? Think of what Christ did for your sake and His sacrifice of Himself in order to save you, and hear Him ask you: And you, what have you suffered for my sake?

We all seek heavenly recompense, and our way to it is to serve others and seek their good. The best example of this is our mighty Saviour, who when ''being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father'' (Philippians 2:8-11). For the one who seeks the others' good and not his own, and who honours others will be honoured by his heavenly Father as the Father honoured the Son, who gave Himself for sinful mankind.

Come, let us walk in the footsteps of Christ, to be the people of the right hand, to whom the King says: ''Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me'' (Matthew 25:34-36). The Lord credits every touch of good and love to your account, however humble and insignificant it may be. He gives it back to you with a great blessing, not only here on earth, but as an eternal inheritance prepared for you since the creation of the world! ''And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward'' (Matthew 10:42).

The apostle of love, Paul, presented a beautiful piece of advice to the elders of the church of Ephesus, ending with some words the Lord Jesus had spoken, but which were not recorded by any of the four evangelists: ''I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who were with me. I have shown in every way, by labouring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus: `It is more blessed to give than to receive''' (Acts 20:33-36). Here the apostle Paul commands us to love with the love which does not seek its own, working according to Christ's word that giving is better than receiving. Christ presented an example of this when He gave Himself for us. Paul also presented an example, for he did not seek his own, either, but served and carried burdens for the needs of others. Therefore, the Lord blessed Paul. His teaching, inspired by God's Holy Spirit remains a guide-line to the believers to this day, and will remain until Christ's second coming, guiding them to know God's will for their lives and the lives of those around them.

O Lord, teach me to seek the good of my spouse, children, parents, neighbours and friends before seeking any good for myself.

I thank you for giving me the example of not worrying about your Son but giving Him for all of us. I thank you for the Son Himself, praise be to Him, for giving us the example of giving Himself for us. Teach us not to seek our own but that of others, so that we may be worthy, through the mediation of your noble blood, to hear: Well done, good and faithful servant. Let us thus obey the divine command and realise what awaits us in heaven. Hear us, we pray, in His name. Amen!

There are two situations in which anger is sinful:

The Holy Spirit has given the believers spiritual gifts and grace to help them make progress in faith. How, then, can they lose the fruit of the Holy Spirit who is long-suffering and patient in restraint and self-control?!

We all fight our own spiritual battle and are eager to comprehend for what reason Christ came to us. There is no despair when we are with Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us all to keep our temper and control ourselves and live the life of love which ''is not provoked'' to anger.

We often need assurance that we are a new creation in Christ, because ''Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires'' (Galatians 5:24). For these moral principles are not only morals, but the lifestyle of a new life in Christ. To those whose life has been changed we can apply the saying: ''Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new'' (2 Corinthians 5:17). So we need a new nature when we want to have victory over anger, one which lives for God controlled by His Holy Spirit, so that we give more of ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who is God's personality, and commit ourselves more to Him. When He possesses us, He also possesses our tempers and keeps us from getting angry.

There are four words of advice we can follow to be victorious over anger:

Examine my soul, O God, and try my words and my relationships with others. Dominate my behaviour through your Holy Spirit. I thank you for treating me with indulgence in spite of all the evil I have done against your kingdom, my brothers and myself. ''Against You, you only, have I sinned.''

When I lose my temper and become angry, control my tongue and give me your love. Remind me of how much you have forgiven me, so that I may also forgive, and how patient you have been with me so that I may also be patient with others. Help me not to become angry without reason, but to be victorious by your grace over all thoughtless anger and all bitterness, harmful as it is to myself and others as well as your kingdom. Hear my prayer, in the name of Christ. Amen.

To think evil is to interpret words and actions of others negatively and to judge them unfairly without having any evidence for evil intentions.

For these three deplorable reasons we need love which ''thinks no evil'', because it saves our spiritual, social and mental life. It gives us rest from problems with ourselves and society. For the Bible is not just an eschatological book, although it does speak about Christ's second coming and eternal life. It is also a book of the here and now. It is for the present. It has to do with our daily life, with all that we must relate to, with ourselves and others.

Thinking evil is a mental attitude of a human being towards others. It may be a result of bad experiences in the past. For instance, you may expect very much good from a person, but you become disappointed with him as your hope is dashed. When this happens, you begin to think evil of him, and your mind retains a bad image of him. It is as if you had taken a mental photograph of him. It remains fixed and unchanged with you, although life is a moving picture rather than a fixed photographic one! In the same way evil thinking, based on an evil past, destroys the past for you. It destroys the present and the future for you as well! Perhaps someone who loves you now will do evil to you later, and the one who has once done evil against you may prove his love for you later. So let us be open towards others, knowing that life is moving, not standing still.

Thinking evil may result from interpreting and judging attitudes too quickly, without giving enough time for a logical analysis and for being sure about the sources of the information we have received about these attitudes. We must have patience with a human being before passing judgment on him or her.

Thinking evil may also result from listening to the opinions of others about persons with whom we have not dealt personally before, accepting those opinions and judgements without scrutinising them first. Most often the opinions and judgements are negative, which creates a negative image of others in our mind, not because we have dealt with the persons in question, but just because we have heard negative things about them. In this way the image of people is destroyed in our brains, which makes us tired and makes us tire other people, too.

Thinking evil harms our spiritual well-being and makes us lose our inner peace. The reason for this is that a person who is calm and trusting is able to rest, while someone who thinks evil tires himself out because he interprets even good words to be evil. This weakens his relationship with others. It makes him demand proof upon proof of other people's truthfulness and sincerity before he can begin to trust them. This is exhausting to him as well as to others!

Whoever thinks evil also weakens his relationship with the Lord, for how can we pray for others, asking for God's blessing on them when we think evil of them? And how can we be at peace with ourselves, so that we can have the joy of speaking to God about the believers and the church when we think evil about our own brothers and sisters in the Lord, the believers, the members of the church?

Thinking evil is extremely dangerous because the thoughts of a person are his own world, the world he lives in when he is alone. So if his thoughts are negative, his whole life will become negative. If they are positive, they make his life positive.

The sage said in the Book of Proverbs: ''For as he thinks in his heart, so is he'' (Proverbs 23:7). Thoughts shape the personality. If a man thinks evil, his whole life will become evil. This throws a heavy burden on his shoulders. So let us live thinking objective thoughts and feeling love. This is possible because we are personally able to govern the world of our thoughts ourselves, making it clean and full of love, for our own good.

Our thoughts are the measure of our spiritual life. They are even more important than our works in measuring our spiritual progress, because thoughts inspire and motivate the works we do. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ concentrated more on our thought world than our works, because it is thoughts that produce works. Let us take the example of someone who gets angry at his brother without reason and nurtures his anger: His anger eventually grows so strong that it leads him to murder. Another example is someone who looks at another man's wife with desire. He ends up committing adultery (Matthew 5:21-32). The more we progress in our spiritual life, the more we mature psychologically and progress in spiritual knowledge, and the more our thoughts about ourselves and others improve.

The apostle Paul in his pastoral letter to Titus said: ''Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and stirring about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless'' (Titus 3:1-9).

This commandment means that the one who lives the new life in Christ cannot live in the world of evil thoughts. Rather, this person renews his mind according Christ's way of thinking.

We need to make an effort to quit thinking evil, because someone who has continuously programmed his mind to think evil must change his direction of thought, which requires correcting himself and his way of thinking.

Here are three proposals to help us heal evil thinking :

O Lord, forgive me for thinking evil of others, for I do not know everything about everybody. Help me to see the lighter side of people before I see their darker side, and grant me, when I judge others, the simplicity of doves and the wisdom of serpents. Give me grace to think of others the way You think of me, for You are always expecting good from me, and You entrust me with much and assign me services to do for You. You have entrusted me with my income, my time, my family and my spiritual blessings; so grant me to see others from Your viewpoint. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Christ said to Pilate that He had come to witness to the truth. Then Pilate asked Him a question: ''What is truth?'' Pilate was not prepared to hear the answer. Perhaps the tone of his voice when he asked the question implied: ''Who knows where to find truth! The adherents of all religions say that they have the truth!'' That may have been the reason why Jesus did not reply. He had already answered this question when He said, ''And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed'' (John 8:32,36). ''I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'' (John 14:6). So Christ is the truth in which love rejoices, because the absolutely greatest joy is the joy of finding the pearl of great value, for which it merits that we leave everything else, however dear it may be to us. Whether it be an emotional relationship or a financial project, we must leave it if it competes with our love for Christ or hinders us in carrying out His will.

Love rejoices in the truth, which is Christ. When you come to know Him as Redeemer and Saviour, and when you hear about people who have repented and accepted Him as Saviour you rejoice. For the greatest day in the life of a human being is the day when he or she comes to know Christ. The second greatest day, in order of sequence only, because it is like the first, is the day when you lead someone else to repentance and the knowledge of Christ. May God grant you both kinds of joy!

The apostle John wrote two great letters to two great persons. His second letter was written to the chosen lady. His third letter was written to his beloved friend Gaius. In both these letters the apostle John expresses his joy in the truth which is Christ, and he also rejoices in everyone who walks in the truth.

The preface to the second letter reads: ''The elder (John). To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth - and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth (i.e. Christ), - because of the truth, which abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one an other. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it'' (2 John 1-6). The apostle John rejoiced in those whom he loved in truth because they walked in truth. The preface to the third letter reads: ''The elder (John). To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all good things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth'' (3 John 1-4). John rejoiced in Gaius because he was walking in truth, and he wished him to prosper as much generally as he did spiritually, for love rejoices in the truth and all those who walk in it.

When we think of Christ's endless love to us we can say with the apostle Paul: ''For the love of Christ constrains us'' (2 Corinthians 5:14). When Christ's love constrains us and possesses us, we begin to love those who have let Christ enter into their hearts, because they love the One we love, and they are in harmony with the One with whom we are in harmony: Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is the truth which Christ proclaimed to us, and the apostle Paul described it as being ''the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation'' (Ephesians 1:13), and ''the word of the truth of the gospel'' (Colossians 1:5). In His intercessory prayer, Christ said, ''Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth'' (John 17:17). The Gospel is the true good news, because its teaching is heavenly truth, and we are saved by accepting its message, which brings joy, because it acquaints us with Christ the Saviour (Romans 1:16). It is the good news of God's grace and the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). It is the good news of the Kingdom (Matthew 1:35). This gospel is news which brings joy, because it brings us the promise of the forgiveness of sins on account of the precious blood, and it confirms to us that this forgiveness is not based on good works of righteousness on our part, but according to His mercy through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

Christ also spoke about Abraham's rejoicing in the truth, saying: ''Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad'' (John 8:56). Abraham rejoiced with faith and hope, because he saw the future salvation coming before it actually came. As for the shepherds, they praised God when the angel announced the incarnation of love to them (Luke 2:15), and they went to see ''this thing that has come to pass.'' The shepherds praised God before the angels had told them about the birth of the Messiah symbolically using the sheep they were raising in order to present them as sacrifices in the temple, and by eating the Passover meal for which a lamb had to be slaughtered in remembrance of their liberation from the slavery of Egypt. For love rejoices in the truth which is the Gospel. It also rejoices in all those who accept the Gospel, the message of truth. The shepherd rejoices in the lost sheep when he finds it, carrying it home joyfully, where he invites his friends and neighbours, telling them, ''`Rejoice with me; I have found my sheep which was lost'. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance'' (Luke 15:5-7).

The apostle Paul also expressed his joy over the believers who accepted the Gospel in Thessalonica, saying to them: ''We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe'' (1 Thessalonians 1:2-7).

So the apostle brought the truth of the Gospel to the Thessalonians, and they received it with joy in spite of persecution and hardship, and therefore the apostle rejoiced in them because love rejoices in truth.

God is a God of justice, who loves justice and practices it. ''The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed'' (Psalm 103:6); ''All His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He'' (Deuteronomy 32:4). That is why the apostle Paul says: ''We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things'' (Romans 2:2). Therefore, on the last day, the believers will sing, ''Great and marvellous are your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested'' (Revelations 15:3-4).

As God is just and loves the truth, He demands that His people practice justice, love peace, resist tyranny and support the oppressed. For the law of Moses says: ''You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land the LORD your God is giving you'' (Deuteronomy 16:20). The Psalms demand from us: ''Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked'' (Psalm 82:3-4). Solomon the wise says: ''To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice'' (Proverbs 21:3), meaning that justice and truth are more exalted than ritual worship. God also said through the prophet Isaiah: ''Keep justice, and do righteousness'' (Isaiah 56:1).

The judges of the children of Israel rejoiced with the truth, too. Samuel, the judge and prophet, presented a report to the people on his ministry as a judge as he committed the judiciary responsibility to Saul, the first king of the children of Israel, saying: ''`Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed (i.e., King Saul). Whose ox have I taken (i.e., animal wealth) or whose donkey have I taken (i.e., means of transportation), or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed or from whose hand have I received a bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.' And they said, `You have not defrauded us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand''' (1 Samuel 12:3-4).

There arose prophets who called for social justice in times of oppression and tyranny, because God's love in their hearts caused them not to rejoice in sin, but to rejoice in truth. The prophet Amos was one of the strongest of the prophets who attacked the tyranny of the rich against the poor, for he proclaimed this great motto: ''Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream!'' (Amos 5:24). He also called for the punishment of the oppressors and invited them to repent, saying: ''Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the LORD God of hosts will be with you, as you say have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph'' (Amos 5:14-15).

The men of God never feared anyone in loving the truth and attacking tyranny. The prophet Nathan went to King David in order to rebuke him for his sin when David had taken the poor man's only ewe. He told him: ''You are the man!'' (2 Samuel 12:7). He did not compromise or take into consideration that he was speaking to a king. The word of the Lord from the prophet Nathan's lips touched the heart of King David, so that he repented, saying: ''I have sinned against the LORD,'' whereupon Nathan told him: ''The LORD has put away your sin; you shall not die'' (2 Samuel 12:13).

Hear also what a beautiful appeal God sends us through the prophet Isaiah: ''Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. `Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, `though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword;' for the mouth of the LORD has spoken'' (Isaiah 1:16-20).

Grant us to rejoice in you, Lord Christ: in your person, because you are the truth, and in your word, which is the truth. We thank you because you want to sanctify us in the truth. Help us to rejoice with all who believe in the truth and so are set free by the truth and made to practice justice and truth. And help us also to rejoice in the truth so that we act it out, practice it and live in it, and do not oppress anyone, nor rejoice in the oppression or misfortune of anyone. May our lives always be lived according to the truth. In the name of Christ. Amen.

He bears with us even when we sin and turn away from Him. He said to His disciples in the upper room, when He knew that they would desert Him and flee after a short while: ''No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends'' (John 15:15). He really did consider them to be friends, even though they were not. And when we come to Him praying with the tax-collector: ''God be merciful to me a sinner'' (Luke 18:13), He trusts us and forgives us. If someone would ask Him, ''How can You accept such a treacherous sinner?'' He would answer: ''This repenting tax-collector who went home justified will live an upright life and will help others to find the way to justification. And even if he would sin, I would not allow him to be rejected, but I would uphold his hand'' (Psalm 37:24).

She tolerates difficulties which no one else could ever tolerate from her child. And in the midst of these difficulties she will shout with joy at the slightest signs of intelligence that her child shows. She will praise the child and expect it to have a glorious future. She will always defend it when anyone complains about it! She will see it as the most intelligent and beautiful person on the face of the earth! Of course, in this she is not objective, but prejudiced, because ''love makes blind'' as the proverb goes! When she sees him make mistakes, she will believe that he will overcome his shortcomings and learn from them. She trusts that her child's future will be better than its past!

Abraham, the friend of God, trusted God's promise to him, waiting for twenty years for the promise to come true when his wife, Sarah, would give birth to the son of the promise. He had to bear much and be patient. ''And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform'' (Romans 4:19-21).

The Holy Spirit possessed Abraham's heart and taught him the things of God, for the love of Christ was poured out into his heart, and he was filled with Christ's way of thinking (Romans 5:5). In this love, he lived the life of love which bears everything. He fulfilled the command of the apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy: ''The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also'' (2 Timothy 2:2). The teacher trusts his disciple while he is being trained, as his teacher trusted him before. Paul trusted Timothy. He trained and bore with him, believing that God would use him for blessing, so Timothy put his trust in those whom he trained. This is the practice of love which tolerates, believes, hopes and is patient, because it knows that the Holy Spirit uses the word and yields fruit: ''As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it'' (Isaiah 55:10-11). In the same way, the teacher believes in the work of God's grace, and continues to hope that his spiritual son will be better than himself.

When Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit, Elijah told him, ''You have asked a hard thing'' (2 Kings 2:10). It would indeed be a hard thing for Elisha if God granted his request, because this would mean that he would be expected to take immense responsibilities upon himself, a double portion of the immense responsibilities faced by Elijah. Elisha's request was also hard for Elijah, because it was not Elijah who was going to grant Elisha's request. God alone can grant it. He is the only One to bestow a double portion of Elijah's spirit. In spite of this, Elijah did not rebuke his disciple Elisha for being too greedy or ambitious. On the contrary, he rejoiced in him because he loved him and told him, ''If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.''

When a spiritual father discovers that his disciple has sinned, he bears with him because he is patient and long-suffering, his heart overflowing with the love which the Holy Spirit grants, the love which is patient and kind.

Optimistic love trusts the excuse of the sinner and gives him a new chance. When he is late in fulfilling his obligation, love expects things to be put in order and hopes for improvement. When this fails, love continues to be patient in everything because it forgives failure and hopes for the best. This verse teaches us that optimistic love expects sweet days and the best of situations however bad the present conditions are. Now let us consider how optimistic love behaves.

What does love do when it endures, believes, hopes and waits without seeing its hopes fulfilled? The answer is that it endures, not with the endurance of despair and inability, but with the endurance of hope which says with the psalmist: ''Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning'' (Psalm 30:5). For the night must end and the sun must rise!

When the city of Samaria was besieged and the people was starving, the king was wearing sackcloth and saying: ''If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the wine press?'' For there was neither grain, nor oil, nor grapes. But the prophet Elisha, who saw God's law and power, was hopeful and said: ''Tomorrow about this time a seah of flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria'' (2 Kings 6,7) - and it happened!

Love is patient because it knows that the interventions of divine grace always come at the right time and it understands that God will be quick to save.

God's love was patient with us until we repented. It bore with our disobedience until we obeyed.

Are we patient with those who do evil against us?

The love of God trusted us and gave us a new chance.

Is it possible for us to give a person who has done evil against us a new chance to repent and return to God?

God's love has put a great hope in us.

Is it possible that we can have hope for someone else? Love bears, trusts and hopes all things and is patient in everything.

Our heavenly Father, we thank you that you have borne with us and trusted us when we repented before you, and you expected us to be good believers. When we misbehaved, you had patience with us. Help us to bear with others and trust those who do evil against us when they apologise to us. Grant us to hope the best from them and to have patience with their weaknesses as you have had patience with us, that we may be compassionate and forbearing as you were forbearing with us, too, in Christ.

Make this a profound lesson to us as we are in your presence every instant. Help us to show love to you and those who surround us. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Heavenly Father, give us wisdom to see your love for us, which never fails. You loved us so much while we were still in our sins that you turned us away from them. You still show patience to us by turning us towards You and cleansing us. Grant us to love everyone, including those who do evil against us, with a love that never fails, but continues on its way, trusting in victory. In the name of Christ. Amen.

We may use the image of a tree for these three things that abide. Its roots and trunk are faith, which is the sound relationship with God.

Its branches are hope which welcomes God's purposes for oneself.

Its fruit is love which is service and doing good willfully for God and other people.

Faith comes from the word of God which announces the good news to us. ''So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God'' (Romans 10:17). Hope also comes from our relying on God's word, as the apostle Paul said as he was standing trial: ''And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers'' (Acts 26:6). For we build our hope on faith. Love, then, comes from faith and hope, for love is active because it trusts in its strength, as the word of God describes it, in the firm hope that it will never fail.

Faith trusts in the word, hope trusts in the promises of the word, and love practices the word.

Faith awaits the Lord, hope awaits the signs of the Lord's approval, and love awaits serving God as it is serving people.

Faith without love is faith without works. It is dead because it is mental only, like the faith of the demons who believe and shudder yet do not change. Faith without hope loses the vision for the future, because it sees nothing but the past. But the happy life with a goal is the life through which faith and hope walk together, as is clear from the word of Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes: ''Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers'' (Genesis 48:21).

Hope without faith is illusion based on wishful thinking. A believer does not practice this, because he bases his hope on his faith in God's word as it is recorded in Scripture. Hope without love is selfish, because man only thinks about himself, and wishes and hopes only for himself!

Without faith it is impossible to please God, without hope life turns to desperation and misery and we become the most wretched of all people, and without love life becomes self-centred, losing the image of God. If these virtues are found together, however, our faith will be there to serve others, and our hope will be for our own good as well as for the good of others.

However, if the two virtues of faith and love abide and are bound together by love, why does the apostle say that love is the greatest?

Our heavenly Father, grant us the faith that puts all its trust in You, so that it may attain the promises. Make hope deep in us, so that we may live a life of hope which is not dashed.

Give us love like Your love, so that we may give without expecting anything in return, that we might be taken up high in Your love's chariots of fire which surround us. In the name of Christ. Amen.