Fortress of Faith: Study Five- Foundation of Love

Thank you for returning.  I apologize for the missed weeks.  The Christmas Season is always a busy time of year, and for my family, this year it was additionally busy due to illness in my home.  I am eager to continue this study with you! 

"1 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. 2 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. 3 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.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13 v 1-13

Over the past several weeks, I have been thinking and praying about this study.  The title in itself is meant to be a beacon of hope.  Many women, even those of us who are serving or have served as members of the Military, do not consider themselves soldiers or warriors, not even defenders really.  Yet, in every aspect of our lives we are fighting for something; we are defending something.  Whether we are fighting for someone we love, a dream, or a goal, or whether we are defending our views,  our beliefs, or our way of life, we are fighters and defenders as life dictates at various stages.  This is the purpose of "Fortress of Faith." 

Dear Sisters in Christ, we are not fighting alone.  We are not defending our values, our homes, our families, or our ideals alone.  We STAND within the Faith which is our Fortress.  His Word has offered us hopes, promises, and weapons to help us fight for what we believe in, defend what must be defended, and offer all that we share in Christ with others!  I hope that if anything in this study helps you in any way, that you will share it with your Sisters in Christ.  I hope that if anything in this blog reminds you of the hope we are given, and the safety we share in His hands, that you will pass it on.

Now, to continue with this foundation of love.

Verses 6 and 7 say "6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Ladies, we have already discussed the problems with rumors and gossip, even and especially among friends.  Verse 6 takes this issue just a little bit deeper.  While many of us can agree that many rumors are steeped in some sort of truth, the problem with the rumor is not the element of truth, but the added exaggeration which causes us to get excited, and which incites in us something ugly.  When we truly love the person we are discussing, why would we delight in the ugly?  Would we not show better love to that person, even if the person is someone we do not care for or disagree with, if we either stuck to the facts, or never contributed in the first place?  Speaking from experience, I have seen so called little white lies ruin friendships, turn something innocent into something dangerous, and drive wedges into working relationships.  Some may say that those little white lies are not "evil."  Some would say that "evil" is too harsh a word.  However, few of us can say we have never been on the receiving end of a white lie or a rumor- we know just how "evil" we think the person who lied or gossiped is.  None of those people are equated with love in our minds or our memories.  We certainly should not lie to ourselves about white lies when it suits us. 

Instead, we should practice truth.  This does not mean that we say the angry words on the tip of our tongues.  This does not mean being "brutally honest."  What this means is that we be diligent in being uplifting of each other and others.  What this means is that we stop rumors and gossip when they reach our ears, by not passing it on and by not adding to them.  What this means is that we recognize a "little white lie" for what it is- a lie, and refrain from saying it.  We show each other love, respect, and honor when we trust each other with the truth, even if we fear the outcome of the truth.

This correlates directly to verse 7. 

We will not always like the people we deal with.  We are still human.  Loving others as Christ loved us does not mean that we suddenly hold dear to our hearts every person we come across.  No, the love that we are admonished to share is a love that is shown through respect and honor.  We CAN love a perfect stranger in this way, though this is not a type of love that most of us have ever heard of.  Anytime you show respect to an elder, you are showing a form of love- a lack of selflessness.  It is this type of love that will help us rejoice in truth as we join in protecting others.  It is this type of love that help us trust our comrades in arms, our fellow military spouses, and our leadership.  It is this type of love that allows us hope in trying times as we deploy, move, struggle with health or finances, and raise families.  It is this type of love that gives us strength to persevere all those struggles, and come out stronger on the other side. 

Best of all, THIS type of love is one that we can share with everyone we come in contact with.

This week, let us practice celebrating truth.  Let us practice protecting truth.  Let us be diligent in trusting those we hardly know, hoping that He knows the best outcome, so that we will persevere in His will!

I wish you all the very best!  I hope each of you had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.  I hope that this foundation of love that HE has first shown us, will be something that we can turn on in our lives so that we can begin strengthening the fortress of faith in which we rest.

God bless!!!
C. Borden

Copyright © 2012 C.H.Borden