FAIR EXCHANGE?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Relationships are often transactional.

People elect government officials to represent them and in turn, those elected officials are expected to work in the best interest of those who put them in office.

A person interviews for a job and is hired. The new employee brings their skills and talents to bear to carry out the work they are asked to do and, in turn, the employer plays them a wage or salary for their services.

When it comes to interpersonal relationships, friend to friend or husband to wife in marriage, the transaction is typically centered on love. We all want to feel cared for and we choose to be around people that value us. Take love out of a relationship and the relationship doesn’t usually sustain.

We get a sense that the Apostle Paul is concerned about his relationship with the Corinthian church as we look at the two verses forming the base for today’s message. Look again at his words here:

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also. 2 Corinthians 6:11-13

Here we find Paul openly professing the love that he and his ministry counterparts had for the church in Corinth and the believers there. The missionaries had “opened wide” their hearts and never withheld their affection for their brothers and sisters in Christ but as we can see, there wasn’t a fair exchange happening, at least in Paul’s view. The transactional relationship was lacking transaction. It was only working in one direction.

And so Paul, speaking to the Corinthian Christians as if they were his children, asked for them to also “open wide” their hearts to him and those working with him. He hoped that the love and affection between the Jesus followers in Corinth and the missionaries would run both ways.

Does this happen to us today? Do we find ourselves in situations where we love and care for others but receive nothing in return?

I know I have been in these circumstances in more than one occasion. They are hurtful and frustrating.

So how do we deal with these relationships where love transaction is expected but not received?

Here are two key things the Lord has taught me through His holy word and Spirit:

First, he convicted me through the Holy Spirit.

Now you’re probably thinking, “Convicted and not encouraged?”

Trust me, it was conviction in its purest sense.

So what was the nature of the conviction?

It came by way of the Lord forcing me to face how I have handled my relationship with Him. He asked me if I had ever failed to show Him love when He was loving me. Of course, I was guilty as charged. I have never loved the Lord as well as He's loved me and frankly have taken Him for granted too many times. Way too many.

And yet, He has never ceased to love me, even when I wasn’t giving it to Him in return. In doing show, He has shown me how I need to respond to people who don’t return love to me after I give it to them. I am supposed to keep loving them anyways.

And this leads me to the scriptures and this single verse from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, a verse that contains these three powerful words:

“Love never fails.” 13:8

God’s word is truth and when His word tells us love never fails then it won’t. The Lord is telling us through the scriptures to never give up. We’re to persevere in loving others even when that love isn’t returned. Yes, we are going to find ourselves in relationships that may fall short of being transactional when it comes to love but in those times we can look to our Lord and be reminded how we are to love others, without fail at all times.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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