Clever Free Methodist

  Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “A candle loses nothing when it lights another candle.” Sharing. Mentorship. Encouragement. Caring. Giving. Supporting. Like a candle lighting another candle, these words can be used to describe the Christian who cultivates and enriches the lives of another and empowers their local church. This is why 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 becomes so powerful for us, as it states, “[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. love never fails.” The phrase “all things,” can mean “all-encompassing” to emphasize that love covers “everything” and does not discriminate. Love is never removed, withheld, or adjusted to fit our emotions or how we feel at the time. Love is always active. Love will always involve someone else because love isn’t independent. love is not something we keep to ourselves. Love is given away freely and generously. Love has been and always will be about expressing it towards others and within the church body.

  Tensions are high. Conversations can sometimes become toxic. Protests. Riots. Fighting. Division. We can probably list more, but we get the point. Since the time that Cain killed his brother Able (Genesis 4:8-16), humanity has developed friction in its relationships and has put prerequisites on the ability to love unconditionally. The last year of Presidential leadership, elections and the inauguration combined with the pandemic of COVID-19, many have become anxious enough to retreat back to their groups of identity where they have become polarized into becoming angry, fearful, and willing to “take sides” against their own families and fellow Americans. Sadly, we see the same patterns developing in the Church. We have allowed the events and the ways of this world to not only distract us, but to pull us back into its ways and ideologies. May we never forget the words of Jesus in John 18:36 , “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to pre