Day 5
A Call to Love . . . and
to Death
John
Piper writes the following on how dying to self is the key to truly loving
(love is not self-seeking).
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Being long-suffering means dying to the desire for an untroubled
life.
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Having no jealousy means dying to the desire for unshared
affection.
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Not boasting means dying to the desire to call attention to our
successes.
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Not acting unbecomingly means dying to the desire to express our
freedom offensively.
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Not seeking our own way means dying to the dominance of our own
preferences.
§
Not being easily provoked means dying to the need for no
frustrations.
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Not taking account of wrongs means dying to the desire for
revenge.
§
Bearing all things and enduring all things means dying to the
desire to run away from the pain of obedience.
Love at home, love at the office, love in the neighborhood, love
in the body of believers? Are we willing to die? If we are this satisfied with
all that God is for us in Christ, then the promises will surely come true: we
will bear much fruit, we will live forever, we will be with the Lord, and the Father
will honor us.
When Jesus calls a man, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, he bids him
come and die. Come. Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to love.
How does this
impact your grasp of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)?
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Contributors: Claudia Brydon, Chris Firth, Bob Klecan, Ed
Pierce
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