Defended & Surrendered

True love is not primarily a feeling. It is a decision to set aside your own rights and freedoms for the sake of another person. In 1 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul lays out every legitimate right he had as an apostle, including payment, a spouse, and financial support, and then explains why he chose to surrender all of it. His reason was simple: nothing should stand in the way of the gospel reaching people. Just as Jesus left divine glory to enter our world, believers are called to enter the worlds of others, meeting people where they are rather than demanding they come to us. The gospel does not spread primarily through arguments or clever words. It spreads when people see sacrifice lived out in ordinary life. Freedom is a gift, but the greatest expression of love is choosing, willingly and freely, to lay that freedom down for someone else.