1 Corinthians 13:6 AMPC
[6] It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
We have been considering what love is and what it is not. Today, we again look at the internal and external manifestations of what God's version of love looks like. As we know, joy is also a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, and it cannot be produced alongside with the opposite of joy, which is bitterness or sorrow. If I do not have any reason to rejoice, or I consider that there is no basis for hope that there is an eternal future for me, how can I claim to have the Spirit of God living inside of me? How can I claim to know and have God if my life does not exhibit and inhabit the presence of God as well as His presents He gives to all who surrender to Him? I have to audit my life in the light of His revealed truth, and make sure He has total control of it. He will not force Himself on me, or go against the exercise of my freewill. Have I totally yielded to God, or am I still laying claim to territory as my own?
The person who has totally surrendered to God will not struggle with the Truth. The person of Jesus is revealed to us as the Way, the Truth and the Life. I cannot claim to know and support the Truth if I do not know the Truth. If I do not know the Truth, anything is permissible. If I am able to switch between competing interests, able to blend into any situation, then I need to check the quality and depth of my convictions. If my convictions shift on the basis of what is popular or generally acceptable to the majority of the world, then I need to again confirm that what I have and know is God's version of truth. If there is anything in me that remotely rejoices in iniquity, injustice, or unrighteousness, I need to audit my life and be sure that the foundation of my faith is still intact. The world system is under the control of the devil and whatever it produces must line up with its control point, but if I am not of the world, my focus and output must be different.
Truth and unrighteousness cannot flow from the same source. God and the devil cannot be fighting at the same time for control of your life; you have to make a decision on whom you will give it to. Grace has been given to all men to make the right choice, but I have to take hold of and apply it to my life. There is also no fence of indifference to sit on, where I can claim to be in the middle. You cannot get away with making no choice at all; in fact, not deciding to stand for truth is itself a choice. Love, by its nature, cannot be separated from truth. Both have the same origin, which is Jesus. If I have Him, I embrace both. I am able to rejoice when both are in full flow and I am also able to stand up and promote both when the occasion demands it. What this means is that I must be sure of who I have submitted my life to. I cannot flow out with anything different from the spring that is in me. If I do not like the current outflow, I must change the spring and source. What do you need to do? God's time of favour is here.
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