Binding - Come Fill Your Cup

There are several steps to making a quilt. Piecing the top, adding the backing and batting, and binding the quilt. Once a quilt has been bound, it is together to stay. Our world has been struck by anger and hate. Pain, grief, and suffering seem to be all we hear of. In such times of trial, it is vital to remember what binds us together as the church. 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Love bears.
(Galatians 6:2) “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Colossians 3:13) “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Bearing all things has come to be misused occasionally. It does not mean we allow someone’s abuse, anger, or hatred to rule your life. Instead, earing “all things” means that when someone is struggling you do what you can to bear those burdens in love. Even when they aren’t struggling, we should aid each other, bearing “all things” together. Bearing all things means that we must be accepting that we, as people, are human. Created in God’s likeness, yes, but we still fail. Others are not “like us,” others are irritating, sometimes intentionally – but we bear it anyway because we are not here to judge, to rule, or to hurt. We are here to shine His light and share His love.

Love believes.
(Romans 1:16-17) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’.” The gospel, the power of God for salvation- to everyone who BELIEVES. (John 14:1-2) “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Believe in God. Believe in Christ. Believe in the Spirit at work within us.
If there is no belief that the Spirit could possibly be at work in your life and faith, I have bad news; if He is not, Satan most likely is. We must guard our hearts and minds, and keep focusing ahead. This battle is not like those in movies. Our enemy does not play fair and would rather attack the church from within. Don’t let your life be the vessel he uses to bring down the church. Do not allow the temptation of disbelief to enter your life. Before we move on from belief, let’s look at another aspect of believing all things. (Acts 9:26-31) “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” Barnabas believed Saul’s conversion was true. The son of encouragement “believed all things” – even from someone who had been “ravaging the church.” Through his belief and the church’s belief in Barnabas, we were given one of the earliest missionaries and several books of the Bible. Are we willing to see the world with love and believe someone has changed? Are we ready to forgive and move forward in love?

Love hopes.
(Romans 8:24-25) “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Hope: eager anticipation, conviction. We know what is coming, and we hope in it. We have a hope for eternity with Him, and we continue striving towards it.

Love endures.
(1 Peter 2:19) “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.” Let us endure the trials and tribulations thrown our way, finding peace, joy, and living in hope as we do so. How? This earthly life is teeming with loss: grandparents, siblings, friends, nieces, nephews, parents… relationships, lives, and health have been taken from us. How are we supposed to endure? Through love. Because we have love we do not walk this road alone. Our siblings in Christ are here to help us endure. Through love, we should be active in aiding, in bearing the burdens. Nothing can take away our grief. But you do not have to bear it alone. Let our prayer be that he “bind us together, in love.”

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