"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." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
These verses speak of a perfect kind of love that we strive to have for other people. This is a tall order. There is so much here in these verses! We can try to be loving to all people by doing these things - being kind, not envious, not boastful, etc. But how well can we do everything on this list? And it can often be difficult to treat all people with love, especially if there are people who don't reciprocate, or may have hurt us in some way, etc. However, Jesus tells us even to love our enemies, and pray for them (Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27 & 35).
We strive to love one another in order to reflect God's love to the world, the love He has shown us first when He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins. God gives us the power to be able to be loving to others. We can come to him in prayer, asking for help when we have difficulty with loving. But we can never love perfectly. Only God is perfect. And thankfully, when we fail to love others or to love perfectly, He is forgives us because of what Jesus has done.
In 1 John 4:8 we are told that God is Love. In fact, He is perfect love. So we could also use the 1 Corinthians verses to describe God by replacing the word "Love" with "God":
"God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. GOD NEVER FAILS!"
May we remember to be grateful for God's perfect love as we go into the world and share that love with others with his help.
Written by Jan A.
1 Peter 4:8,9
ReplyDelete"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."
Patty
Hi Jan,
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought it to substituting God for the word love. God is love and His mercy endures forever. Good word!
Blessings!