LOVE IS GRACIOUS

2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23; 1 Corinthians 1:1-17; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 20:20-21

“’Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the Lord gave through Moses.’ Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people’s Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king’s own flocks and herds.”

“…You… have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Love, of course, is all about grace. At its very best, love is grace, an unmerited blessing of forgiveness and restored fellowship. None of us deserve love. Yet love is still precisely what Christ came to earth to prove we have in spite of ourselves. Love is what our spouses see in us even when we don’t see it in ourselves. Love is what breeds hope. So, when we enter or are in the middle of a time of testing, maybe we need to take our eyes off the problem for a bit and put some effort into seeking out and reconnecting with love and people again.

Gracious love cleans its own house first. I know many people whose relatives would be much happier if they were just treated as well as those people treat complete strangers. Isn’t it odd how we can show compassion for those less fortunate and ignore those closest to us, or treat them with disrespect? The Levites and priests, in preparing for the Passover, were given explicit instructions to stand with their families and, first, to purify themselves. It is a good and wonderful thing to help others. But if we going to do so graciously, we have to prepare ourselves first. We cannot share what we do not have. Our motives need to be pure. We need to be solid at home. And if we are not, we can take refuge in the fact that God expects  - even requires - us to take care of ourselves and our own before we serve others. Graciousness rests on a foundation of faith and family.

But, of course, it does not end there. Love, to be love, needs to be shared, and not just with those closest to us. There is not a soul alive that does not long for a sense of belonging and self-worth. Everyone wants to be appreciated and treated with compassion. Those who live in the Spirit – or, more accurately, allow the Spirit to live in and through them - are uniquely positioned to share the fullness and completeness that is Christ with their brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as with those seeking it. We are all called and commissioned to help seekers and others submit themselves to the Lord and His good and gracious plan for our lives. We should feel happy and fulfilled simply to serve as the “people behind the people” who reveal and bring Christ close. The spotlight rarely shines on gracious love. I suspect God intends this as a way of making that love even more incandescent to others.

Ultimately, love and graciousness both stem from an attitude of gratitude, and it is here we’d best focus on the days leading up to Easter. It is a sad but true cliché that we never fully appreciate what we have until it is taken from us. Paul, before he did anything else, encouraged the Corinthians, in so many words, to take an inventory of their blessings, and be thankful. He emphasized their calling to holiness and their ability to claim it through Jesus. He encouraged them to seek a foundation of grace and peace. Then, he reminded them of the Lord’s gifts, both to them individually and corporately as the Body of Christ, the Church. He affirmed God’s provision of their needs and His promise to keep them strong until the end. No wonder Paul gave thanks for the Corinthians; they were a blessed and equipped people! But unfortunately, they lacked the one thing necessary to pull them together as the Body. They lacked graciousness. Divisions based on personal loyalties had sprung up. They had taken their eyes off of Christ.

At the Cross, Christ invites us into partnership with Him. He calls us to minister to the world, and present His Good News. He qualifies us with grace. We need grace to accomplish His purposes. Grace overlooks personal differences and weaknesses. It searches for opportunities to build up and encourage. Simply put, it places others in positions of preeminence. There is no disgrace in holding the door to heaven open for others to pass through. Disgrace comes when we barge in front of others, barring their way. Love is gracious because love can afford to be gracious. It is powered by something greater than self-interest. It knows Christ has our backs. It recognizes that, in supporting and encouraging others, we not only support and encourage ourselves but fulfill the purpose for which we were created.