Love Is Loyal—No Matter What the Cost 3
David W Palmer
(1 Corinthians 13:7 TLB) “If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”
Not only does God want us to be loyal with our love for others and to defend their standing with God and us, but he also wants us never to violate this role boundary ourselves. In other words, never take over God’s role in anyone’s life—not yours, and especially not your brothers or sisters in Jesus. Only do or say something corrective to them if you can truly do it in his name—according to the leading of his word and Spirit. And remember that he commands and expects us to do this in perfect love—and that usually means only after we have prayed for them till his love for them flows through us.
Also, be acutely vigilant to anyone trying to take over God’s role in your life—providing for you, correcting you, directing you, or wanting your allegiance and worship. Unless the Holy Spirit is speaking to you through them, to you in advance, or simultaneously to their correction, be very wary of what is happening. Jesus is your Lord; you are his servant. God is your Father and spouse; the Holy Spirit is your teacher. No one else is your provider, Lord, God, or judge.
These same passages are a serious warning to us all not to judge anyone or accuse them. God is listening. When we run outside our lane by speaking accusations (unless God is prompting us to announce judgments on his behalf), we sound to him just like the accuser (Satan). And he will respond to us as he would the accuser; he will step in to be the justifier of the accused person, and “make him stand”:
(Romans 14:4 NKJV) Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
If you are guilty of having done this—run outside your God-appointed lane and been un-loyal in your love—you have stepped outside of God’s loyal covering over you. In so doing, you have placed yourself in danger of Ham’s downfall; he walked outside of God’s covering into the default curse. Sadly, unless you repent of this quickly, you will suffer the consequences; your weapon will not prosper, and you will be condemned. Remember, God is no respecter of persons; if you are guilty of this, he will treat you just like he treats anyone else who does it—anyone who acts like the accuser.
Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you today about doing or having done this? Repent quickly; ask his forgiveness, find his grace to change, and it is all over; you will experience his assurance of confident access to his throne and secret place with a cleansed conscience, and you can do it now. Don’t wait; Jesus’s blood has already been shed to pay for it; forgiveness is yours today if you repent, confess, and accept it.
Renew your mind to see yourself as God sees you, and to see other born again believers as he sees each of them:
Remember, it cost God immeasurably to put himself in the position to be this loyal to you. Receive it gratefully and be willing to do what it takes to be in the position to love others with this loyalty too. And if you have run outside your lane in accusing or judging someone: “admit it, quit it, receive forgiveness for it, and then forget it.” God will then resume justifying you and making you stand. Thank you Jesus for your loyal love.
