Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. 1 Corinthians 13:4
In our world today quite often we misunderstand love and even get the wrong idea about what it should be like, often as women we focus on what it should 'feel" like, having had our own princess dreams of being swept off our feet by our prince charming. The kind of love Jesus displayed was love that gave and forgave, it was selfless, painful, sacrificial, almost looking completely opposite of our vision of love. In this "love' month of February, let's take a look at how the Bible defines love.
Love suffers long- Often sickness comes to mind when the word “suffer” is used but the word suffer also means to endure. Love takes a lot of endurance, all too often we can be way too amped up on issues, circumstances and situations causing us to cut people off left and right. But it’s “how” we endure that matters most. Are we displaying the fruits of the spirit in our relationships? Consider how the Lord has suffered long with us and make sure we aren’t offering any less to others.
Love is kind- If we can endure with kindness we can make even the toughest situations far less difficult. Kindness disarms our enemies and it communicates to a broken world that they are worthy of God’s love. His Word says that while we were still sinners Jesus died on the cross for us. Romans 5:8 Our worth comes from what He has already done, not anything we can do to earn it. In the same way, being kind to others without making them earn our kindness is a beautiful display of God’s love toward others.
Love does not envy- When we envy someone else or what they have, we are really saying to God that somehow He gave us the short end of the stick and that is simply NOT true! God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14. You are fully equipped with everything you need to accomplish what God has purposed and given YOU to do.
Love does not parade itself- I believe one of the reasons love does not parade itself is because love is not about itself. With all my heart I know that God is going to bless so many lives this year in extraordinary ways, I believe the way our hearts respond to blessings is so important. It's important not to parade our giving, it's important not to parade in front of others who are less fortunate, not to parade to get back at people, but to love with an understanding of why we we've been blessed in the first place, to BE a blessing!
Love is not puffed up- We all have that family member that is quite the “character.” You know the one with the hilarious personality who manages to take even serious solemn moments and somehow turn them into bursts of laughter for the entire family. Well I have a brother who is that guy. One day he called me sharing something kinda heavy on his heart and I could tell he was feeling burdened about the situation, so we talked things through a bit, then right when I thought his silence maybe meant tears or something else, out of nowhere he says, “Well enough talk about me, let’s talk about you, what do you think of me?” 🤣that guy!
I share this story all in fun but honestly in America right now it seems we have all become quite focused on ourselves. We take “selfies” for crying out loud, and all of the “i” media we have “i”pads, “i”pods, “i”macs. Now trust me, I speak as one who is very guilty of owning every one of these devices so I’m not here to point the finger at anybody neither to bash the brilliant creators. However, I do recognize these devices can be a breeding ground for pride and that’s the part I don’t want. Being proud and puffed up is the counterfeit of confidence in Christ.
God's love is perfect and all of His Ways are perfect. SO perfect in fact, that His Son Jesus "self(Less)ly" gave His Life for you and me. I wanna love others like God loves, and the only way that can happen is by the Grace God has given us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Father I thank you for your perfect love for me, I receive the Amazing Grace Jesus has given me. Lord teach me to love others the way you love them, and extend the Grace you've extended to me. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!
I wanna hear from you - please comment below! Share which part of 1 Corinthians 13:4 stands out most to you and why.
