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Friday 20 September 2013

Love Does Not Delight in Evil


By Ray Hawkins

Being a writer of devotional meditation and surrounded primarily by Romance writers, I had to choose a love meditation. As Christian writers you are an alternative voice in a genre which is fast falling from Romantic love into unrestrained lust.

So it was relatively easy for me to choose the emphasis from 1 Corinthians 13. As writers, you, me are to show how natural human love is enriched, flavoured by and made dynamic by the love of God within. It also protects us from the pervasive power of evil’s language and behaviour.  May the following thoughts be a blessing to all who read them.

Evil is Death dressed up in party gear promising pleasure and power. What it delivers is a dehumanising lifestyle, degraded personality and a destroyed life.

Love has no pleasure in that company or that writing..

There will be concern for but no joy in what such people are doing, where they are headed. They are looking and walking in the wrong direction, moving away from God.  In the last of his negative facets concerning Love, Paul issues a turn around call. You have your part in promoting that call through your writings.
The word used for Evil in the N.I.V. translation actually means unrighteousness. That is, a playing around with spiritual and relational matters which are not right in God’s sight. It’s being seduced by the way the World does things.

How can this happen to Christians, especially writers?

            The answers will be as varied as each of us and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We need to examine our ways in the light of Biblical teaching. There are, however, some general principles which affect us all.

Our soul nature longs to dominate. Depending upon personal strength or cunning, we will use force or manipulation, coercion or lies, to achieve our ends. The freedom which the Gospel offers through forgiveness can so easily be abused with a libertine or jaundiced ‘eye.’ Losing sight of God’s sovereign grace and promises will tempt us to adopt such strategies. The ripple effect this has within our spiritual life and our fellowship is carnal and chaotic.

Living in a world dedicated to Evil we can be fascinated by its Mardi Gras presentation. Such a life style and attitude will make us blind to God’s directions. It will make us deaf to His voice. This is why Love has no delight in Evil. 

Love is not blind. It points out the folly of walking away from God’s standard. It is not deaf. It hears the cries of the abused, the terrified and the hopeless. Love reaches out to them where they are. It calls them to turn around and look again to Jesus.

When this happens a transformation takes place. Jesus does in a person’s life what a reversing of the letters in ‘evil’ produces. He makes a person ‘live’. That’s why Love says, “Look to Jesus and live!”

Focusing on Him makes a disciple of Christ wary of smearing the Name of Jesus with anything unrighteous, whether in word, action or attitude.

Love and Evil are incompatible!

                                                                        Ray (focused on Jesus) Hawkins


RAY HAWKINS, retired after over 40 years as a Churches of Christ minister, enjoys sharing themes from the Scriptures through Devotional writing. Married to Mary, multi-published inspirational romance author, they have three children and five grandchildren. Ray shares his insights in his first two books on Marriage and Children with more ideas to come about ministry and much more. Living in Beauty Point Tasmania Ray heads up a new Christian Fellowship as well as doing relief preaching, community work and writing.

8 comments:

  1. Ray, fixing our eyes on Jesus constantly and continually is the only way to stump our natural desires. Well said, Ray.

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  2. Thanks Ian. I appreciate your comments. I would add our Lord 'stumps' our natural desires when they want to push us outside His 'spiritual batting crease.' When our nature is 'batting' by His directions our desires are controlled, honourable and refined.

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  3. Judging by your comments to Ian A, Ray, you could write a most telling piece on the christian walk using the cricket metaphor!

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  4. I've never been chosen in the squad to bowl down a devotional on that theme. Maybe one day the selectors might give me the nod to take the field and trundle out either a fast or slow copy. Until then I guess I will simply keep score.

    Thanks for your comments.

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  5. The above should have a photo of Ray, not Mary. The price of using her computer.
    Ry H.

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  6. Ray, thanks for your insightful post. A helpful reminder of how easily we can fall into the trap of being seduced by worldly things that promise pleasure and power but deliver pain and misery. I think you should write a cricket metaphor devotion, too!

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  7. Sorry, this isn't about the book but it's the only place I can comment. I want to thank you for drawing my name in the book draw at the introduction of your association. I have thoroughly enjoyed them and will be reviewing them on my blog shortly.
    http://wynswonderland.blogspot.ca

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  8. Thanks Narelle and welcome back. to write a Cricket Themed devotion might be more of a test than I'm capable of. I've limited overs to face on this theme. Still if I can catch an idea and keep my eye of the ball I'll go to bat for it. (I think that should be enough for you to run me out of the grounds for such abuse of synonyms - or what ever)

    Good on you Wyn. Glad you had the good fortune to win some books. The authors will appreciate a review.
    Ray H.

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