1 Corinthians 13
1IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).
3Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing.
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
9For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
10But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.
12For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].
13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
We are not talking about worldly love that is self-seeking, we are talking about the love that comes from God. God's love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. This has made me reexamine why I do the things that I do. Is it because of God's love in me or is it to glorify myself? I want so badly to care for others more than myself, but I can't do this on my own. His love goes against our natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others.
Today, the world has contaminated the meaning of the word "love". Love is not a feeling. It is a choice and an action. The world thinks that love is what makes a person feel good and that it is all right to sacrifice moral principles and others' rights in order to obtain such "love".
When was the last time :
- you were secretly envious or jealous of someone?
- you were boastful in your accomplishments instead of giving the glory to God?
- you demanded your own way?
- you looked for the worst in a person instead of pointing out the best?
- your love faded because you got tired or didn't feel like loving someone or because they didn't love you in return, or because it was too hard?
- you were rude to someone in traffic, in the grocery store line, in a restaurant, at a ballgame, or even in your own home with your own family members? Sometimes we are more rude to our own family than we are to others. "Treat your guests like family and your family like guests".
I have probably covered most of these in the past week, but Jesus is working on my heart as we speak or I wouldn't be writing this.
How about you? What is the purpose of your love to people? Is it to gain attention from others or to gain something for yourself? Or is it to show your love to God by loving others and glorifying Him? So no matter what we say to others, what we believe, and what we do, we have gained nothing, if we have not loved. If we truly know God, we will love as He does.
1 John 4:7-10 (The Message)
God Is Love
7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
