Love
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Corinthians 13:4 – 8a (NIV)When you hear the word, “love”, what comes to your mind? Perhaps we think of someone we love, or someone who loves us. Or maybe we think of “falling in love” someday. We may think about a romantic story such as “Cinderella” and how wonderful it must have been to have the prince sweep her off her feet and live happily ever after.
Those are some of the ideas the world has about love. Love is a warm, gushy feeling; it’s what you feel if you have a “crush” on somebody.
But, that’s not what the Bible has to say about love. The Bible tells us that God is love (I John 4:8) and that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us that we might be saved (John 3:16). The Book of Ruth is a wonderful story of the love Ruth had for her mother-in-law, Naomi, and later for her husband, Boaz.
What’s the difference between these two views of love? In the first instance, love is a feeling, something that just happens to us if the “chemistry” is right. Feelings come and go. If we love someone only when we feel like it, then there will be many times we won’t love them because they have done something to make us angry, or disappoint us.
The Bible’s view of love is much different. It tells us that love is an action. It’s a decision of our will to act toward others in a God-like way. Love is sacrificial. It puts the other person first. That is not easy and often it does not “feel good”.
God loves us even when we sin, when we act ugly, even when we ignore Him. When we love others, it will mean we have to love them even when they are not nice to us. Sometimes, loving is difficult! It is costly. It will mean laying aside our own wishes and doing what’s best for someone else.
Today’s Scripture from I Corinthians defines love for us and tells us exactly what the Lord thinks love is: Love is patient, and kind. It is not proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered.
Sometimes we just read quickly through these verses and think, “I do most of that”. But let’s read it a little differently. Take each characteristic of love and put your name in front of it, like this: “Susan is patient.” “Mary is kind.” “Ann does not envy.” Ouch! That makes it really hit home, doesn’t it? Try all of the verses with your own name in them and ask the Lord to help you develop the qualities of love you may lack.
Let’s apply this to daily life. Here are some situations that may have happened to us followed by a Biblical response.
“I can’t be nice to that girl one more day! She always says thing about me behind my back.” Love always perseveres.
“My little brother (or sister) is so slow. I always have to wait for him and mom always expects me to help him even when he makes me late.” Love is patient.
“Don’t my parents understand I just have to go out with my friends tonight? They will think I am so dumb if I have to go shopping with my mom where she wants to go.” Love is not self-seeking.
There are many circumstances like these in our lives, even when we are adults. Memorize these important verses and apply them in your daily life. The Lord wants us to become more like Him. Learning to respond in love will help us develop our character so others will see Jesus’ love in us.
Copyright, 2001, 2009 Laurie Latour.
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