Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prephecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. <3
How many times do we read this verse and just skim over it because it is a hard verse to actually live out, and we are always failing at doing it. I know that of my own accord I will never ever be able to live these out. But if we rely on God, and His strength we will be able to do these things. It's not going to be some overnight thing where you ask God to help you be patient, and kind, and not insisting on your own way, and not irritable or resentful. . . You're not going to wake up one morning, and just say "Boy, am I feeling the love today, I'm just going to love everybody, and today is just going to be a great day" No. that's not how it works! It is a process of God working in your heart as you listen to Him, and strive to do what he commands you to do, and read your Bible, and pray.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prephecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. <3
How many times do we read this verse and just skim over it because it is a hard verse to actually live out, and we are always failing at doing it. I know that of my own accord I will never ever be able to live these out. But if we rely on God, and His strength we will be able to do these things. It's not going to be some overnight thing where you ask God to help you be patient, and kind, and not insisting on your own way, and not irritable or resentful. . . You're not going to wake up one morning, and just say "Boy, am I feeling the love today, I'm just going to love everybody, and today is just going to be a great day" No. that's not how it works! It is a process of God working in your heart as you listen to Him, and strive to do what he commands you to do, and read your Bible, and pray.
We've been talking about love in a couple of my classes. We've been diving into the differences in Scripture between Agage love: Love of the mind and will, choosing what is best for others, even at great cost to myself and Phileo love: Love of affection, fondness, warm personal attachment. The love we really need to develop for others is agape love, the love that doesn't always "feel", but the love that always chooses the best for others. Keep studying the Word! :)
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