The More Intelligent Way...

I know that I have mentioned many times before, that the greatest lesson that I have learned over these last six years in dealing with the attack on my wife’s health, has been the importance of increasing in the intimate knowledge of the love of Christ for Piper and I. 

From the moment we returned home from our three year stay in Oklahoma, we realized that things were different… and believe me… I am talking about almost everything!  We were in a new home in a new area of town, had a change in leadership at the church so for all intent and purposes we were attending a new church, both sets of parents were going through various negative health changes, I had taken a promotion and had a new job that included daily travel that kept me away from home for ten to twelve hours a day, our kids were suddenly all grown up and living out of the house… for the first time in 29 years… and of course my wife was needing more and more of my physical attention.

Throughout all these changes though, we learned that the one unchangable foundation of support that we had was our relationship with the Lord, the rock-steady truth of His Word and our ever increasing intimate knowledge of His love working in, for and through us.  And even though we were blindsided early on by some we looked toward for love and assistance, His love has NEVER failed us!

Colossians 3:14 tells us “And above all these things (sympathy, kindness, humbleness, gentleness, patience and forgiveness as mentioned in the previous verses) put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.” (MKJV)  The effects of the absence of love in our relationship with a few (we’d always thought to be mature) Christians became quickly evident to us.  The pain of the shocking accusations and actions that were taken against us were not quelled by the random and intermixed nice sounding words as they were void of loving actions.

We experienced the truth of Colossians 3:14 for without the love, there has been no lasting bond to tie us together.  The footnotes in the Cambridge Bible for this verse describe this love as “The bond or tie, which makes and secures the perfectness, wholeness, fullness, and harmony of the Christian character.  If love is lacking, all other good is nothing, it dissolves!”

We discovered that without love there is judgement instead of acceptance.  Without love there is an almost instant disconnect and a noticeable lack of unity.  Without love, fear takes the center stage!  Without love there can be damage that is very difficult to repair…  A lack of love tends to elevate the individuals involved and not God and does little to uplift and minister to the ones in need.  A lack of love creates a lack of trust.

Colossians 3:14 informs us that loving words and their corresponding actions “ties everything together perfectly!” (God’s Word ©)  Love is God’s perfect answer to everything!  Thayer’s Greek Definitions explains how this “Perfectness” is “the state of the more intelligent.”  That particular statement defies the seemingly “intellectual” approach that these individuals used to belittle and criticize our steps of faith.  I believe I shared that the word “stupid” came up a few times in conversations concerning my actions toward my wife!

According to the scriptures, God’s way of love as described in His Word is actually the more intelligent way to follow… and you know…  After six years of following His ways… just about everything He has instructed us to do has worked out for us EXACTLY the way He said it would!  So what more can I say… It definitely is working for us and I have NO thought to change what we’ve been doing!

What do you think about that for your life?  Whose ways will you follow?  The worlds intellectual approach or will you enter into what the writers of the epistles called the “state of the more intelligent?”  I guess I set you up on that one!!!  But it obviously makes more sense to walk in His love and let Him have His way in every situation you face.  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Who’s Intelligence am I expecting to yield to today?”