sky blue poongsun~

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

It all comes down to love.

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

You can be the most gifted speaker, praise leader, and such, but if you don’t love – whether it’s God, others, or yourself – it amounts to nothing.

Brothers and sisters, do not be fooled by your own pride or distractions in your daily lives. We are in a most desperate situation.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:12-13

The last time I was with my best friend, she said she would die for me, and I was shocked. It’s not exactly a topic that comes up often.

How many people could you die for? I’m not just talking about taking a bullet for someone. Would you willingly be tortured in someone else’s stead?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

It’s hard enough to think of people you love who you would die for, much less strangers or people who have hurt you.

[If you live in Georgia/go to Bethany, talk to Philip Hwang. Jaeson Ma came to Northwestern during Fall Quarter and had a screening of his 1040 movie. I bought it and left it with Philip so he could pass it around to other people. Even if you don’t want to watch the entire film, I recommend that you see the part about the Korean missionaries in Afghanistan.]

Don’t look at the church for a real example of love. Don’t look at me or any other person you know. We will fail you.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

It’s only when we’re touched by God’s grace and experience his love that we can really love anyone else.

I am selfish and sinful in innumerable ways, but because of his mercy and what He’s done, I am driven away from sin. I want to love. I want to live a life full of light and truth.

Sin is everything God is not. It is the twisting of truth and every good thing.

Most, if not all, things are not bad in themselves. [example-] Alcohol isn’t bad in itself. It’s how you USE it. Do you depend on it?

I can promise you that no matter how good any single thing seems, no matter how much happiness or pleasure it brings you now – if you become dependent on it, it will ruin you.

We were never meant to depend on things of this world. Like a machine may be built to run on gas, we were made to run on Him. [as strange as that sounds] If you put water in a gas tank, your car will break down. Try building your life on the acceptance of others, on sex, on alcohol, on pot, on sweets, on the accumulation of money. Ultimately, you will be lonely, unable to stand on your own, empty, unhealthy, and broken.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Christianity is not about following rules. It’s a response and return to our original purpose. We seek him because we see how desperate our situation has become – because we see that He is all that is good.

He loves us -> we love him -> we do all that we can in order to live out His commandments and reveal His truth to this little world that He loves so dearly.

So what are His commandments?

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

Wow Crystal, God sounds pretty selfish. In a way, you’re right. He is jealous for us. Key word – FOR. It is for OUR sake that He calls after us. He loves you, and He wants you to know Him because that is the only way you will have complete joy.

He doesn’t need us. We are foolish and selfish beings who hurt each other and spit on Him. Life is short, as I’m sure you’ve heard. Why should God – perfect, holy, eternal, indescribable God – care about us?

That’s grace. The Gospel is the greatest love story of all time. We cannot even fathom all of it. And that’s an understatement.

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Christians, will you lay down your lives for others? Will you surrender everything to God? I mean, really lay down your life. You can tell your friends that you’d die for them, but what do your actions say? Your actions are the expression of your heart. You’ll jump in front of a bullet for your buddy but you won’t take the time to ask or listen to his or her problems? Does your friendship reflect God’s love for you? Do you lift up your friends or family members to God through everything that you do?

Examine your lifestyle. Examine your conversations and what you do in your spare time.

We’ve all heard the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?”

Do you honestly think Jesus would talk that way? Do you really think He wouldn’t reach out to that lonely kid or that pothead or that girl who’s desperate for attention?

Wake up.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

You are meant to be set apart. If you act and speak the same way as non-Christians, what makes you different? Let your entire life be an example – a representation of what you believe. Let others see you and notice that you are a completely new kind of person. Let them be amazed by the choices you make and how differently you live.

It’s like the example Pastor Sam Pack gave a while back. One night at his church, he went outside and noticed that the moon looked really bright. He just stood there and stared at it. Eventually, other people came out and saw him. They looked to what he was so intently looking at. More people saw them and it became a crowd – just staring at the moon.

That didn’t happen because P Sam is just so cool. We Christians can’t be perfect, but we should take every opportunity to show others what we have our sights set upon and what we live for.

You may be the only example of a person who follows Christ among your friends. What will you do with that position?

Do you think God is proud when you spend your time cursing, judging others, or filling your conversations with crude language?

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Side note -

If you are not a Christian and a friend of yours has invited you to church or something, know that your friend is doing it because he or she really loves you. It’s not some twisted reason related to doctrines or whatever. Think about it -in the eyes of the world – what does your friend have to gain by you going to church? A lot of times it’s uncomfortable for Christians to ask their friends to churches or Christian events. Most of us are afraid that we’ll be rejected or seen as imposing. It’s a risk that we should all be willing to take.

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Growing up in the church, there were a couple songs that I didn’t really understand. One was – “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” and another said that just one day in God’s courts is better than thousands elsewhere. Little Crystal wasn’t sure that it’d be quite so fun to just.. stand and sing about God all the time. She wasn’t sure if she would really prefer one day in His presence over a THOUSAND somewhere else. A thousand is a lot, ya know?

But now, it’s plain to see that a day without Him is a day with absolutely no meaning or light.

I could sing of your love forever? Let’s just say this blog post could go on and on and on and on and on and on.

As Andy Bilhorn said last night, “the longer I’m a Christian, the more my love grows – I’m just floored by Jesus.”

Wow, I could really just keep writing. My thoughts are all over the place. Thank you if you read the entire post. If you’d like to talk about anything related to this post.. [or anything at all haha], let me know and I’d love to chat.

[p.s. - the statements about cursing and etc. were not specifically directed towards or written to condemn anyone]