"Love is not arrogant, or rude."
-1 Corinthians 13:4-5

When you look up the words 'arrogant' and 'rude,' you find something interesting, especially when you think about the Christian's walk with Christ. The root of arrogance is pride. And the root of rudeness is a lack of concern for others.

The interesting thing, when we think about these two terms and our walk with Christ, is that they both stem from an improper understanding of God.

Arrogance is the sin of too much focus on myself. Rudeness is the sin of too little concern for anybody else. And at the center of both of these sins (and all other sins, too) is a misguided understanding of who God is. Which results in a misguided understanding of me and others.

When our understanding of God malfunctions, then everything else goes haywire. Lives are wrecked. Relationships are ruined. And the abundant life that God desires us to have is nowhere to be found.

Simply stated, the way you and I engage the world around us is a direct reflection of our understanding of God.

So, how are we called to view God? The Bible gives us two very clear images of God. And each one challenges us in the way we live our lives. 1) God is HUGE  2) God is near.

We will take some time here to discuss the 'hugeness" of God, and we will look at His nearness later this week.

God is HUGE!

God is greater than we could ever imagine. More awesome than we could ever comprehend. More wonderful than we could ever fathom.

Psalm 19 states that "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork."

In Isaiah 55, God says this about Himself..."as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

in Job 38, in the dialogue between God and Job, we see that there is no one like the Lord. Nobody even comes close.

The earth, and all that it contains, are the creation of our mighty God. The entire universe brings glory to His name.

God is HUGE!

This matters for us, because we are reminded of where our worship is to be directed. We are reminded that grace and life and love come from God. Grace and life and love are His creation. They are not our ideas. We understand, more clearly than ever, that the God of the universe has more than enough love to give into my life and the lives of others.

When we live in a proper understanding of God, we can then allow His magnificent presence to transform our lives. And we live out the kind of love that we are called to live out. The kind of love that is rooted in God, and that seeks others first.

The kind of love that is not arrogant or rude.
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Be sure to join us this Sunday, as we continue to walk through 1 Corinthians 13. 

Take care,
-Jim