A Jealous God

If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!
~1 Cor 16:22

In 16:22, Paul’s personal touch is a verse with a curse: “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.” This verse is rather sobering! The word “accursed” means “devoted to destruction.” The question is: does Paul have in mind temporal or eternal destruction?²⁷ Most scholars argue for the latter; however, there is no contextual reason to assume that Paul is now all of a sudden discussing unbelievers or false teachers. Rather, it seems that he is still addressing believers. True to form, some of the Corinthians do not love²⁸ the Lord.²⁹ Lack of love for the Lord refers to factiousness, self-seeking, strife, and carnality that practically denies one’s love for Christ.³⁰ In this context it means lack of obedience to Him in such things as exalting human wisdom over the wisdom of the cross, tolerating incest, attending idol feasts, dividing over spiritual gifts, and abusing the Lord’s Supper.³¹ Those that fail to love the Lord and other believers will face God’s curse.³² This probably is exclusion from fellowship in the local church.³³ The opposite of this is “Maranatha,” an Aramaic word that means, “Our Lord, come.”³⁴ This is similar to John’s final words in Rev 22:20: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

This excerpt pretty much encompasses what I feel about this verse. How long have I been ignoring God? How long have I been pursuing my desires and not Gods? As Paul says, those who do not love the Lord are cursed. I definitely do feel cursed at the moment. I feel a sense of lost not only because of what I've gone through in recent times, but also because an essential part of my life is no longer there... God... Like a sinking ship I tried plugging the holes with friends, materials and my gf, but never truly fixed the problem of keeping me afloat. There was always something that caused my "ship" to fall apart and sink some more. Either I needed more toys, more time with friends or more of my gf, but now that God has taken my gf away, I feel increase sense of longing for something greater. To be honest I still feel like apart of me needs to fill this void with more girls or be in another relationship, but I know thats not the path God wants me to take. In the end, I'll only get hurt by the poor choice I make. God wants me to depend on Him and not seek the Baals in my life (In today's Judges reading).

How do you genuinely love someone or something? Paul says " Love the Lord or you will be cursed". The only thing I can think of is to spend time with Him. Agape love comes from time spent with each other. To truly love Him, I need to learn to love him. God needs to be apart of my life everyday.

"Come, Lord!". Jesus help me to fall back in love with you. Fill my longing and unsettling heart. I just pray you forgive me for the lack of my ability to keep my promises and always failing you. Father I just lift up my relationship. Whether its in your will that I get back together with Julia or not. Regardless.. give me peace and help me to focus on you first. Provide for me whomever I am destined to be with and let me depend on your sovereignty in all aspects of my life. I pray that you would lift my brother up and give him healing. Be with him in his interview tomorrow that he would rely on you for support and inspiration. Also be with my roommate as she recently found out she has cancer. With your hands I pray that you cleanse her ailments. Lastly help me to be more faithful to you.


In Jesus name
Amen.