I Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
"Love" may well be the most overused word in our vocabulary. People talk of loving everyone and everything. Sad to say, they often love everything more than anyone. We can do the same with this "love chapter" - we have heard it all before - maybe can even say it from memory. But do we get both the full picture and the intricate details of love - the kind God has shown and we are to show to fellow believers. It is a love that comes from God's own character, and what the Old Testament writers refer to as His "steadfast love." He never gives up loving. He always does what is best for us, even if it is painful. He treats us with respect, just the way we should treat Him, and one another, with respect. Love is sacrificial. It is not about what I get out of a relationship, but what I can put into it. It shows the core of my being: what I think about life, about God, about myself, and everyone and everything around me. May our lives be a definition of love today.
No comments:
Post a Comment