Don't let the scripture stop you. If you aren't a Bible reader, please keep reading, give the blog a try!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8New International Version (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
Let me rewrite that in a different form.
Love is Patient.
Love is Kind.
Love does Not envy.
Love does Not boast.
Love is Not proud.
Love does Not dishonor others.
Love is Not self seeking.
Love is Not easily angered.
Love keeps No record of wrongs.
Love does Not delight in evil.
Love Rejoices with the truth.
Love Always protects.
Love Always trusts.
Love Always hopes.
Love Always perseveres.
Love Never Fails.
Love. We use that word all the time. All The Time. I love that movie! I love chocolate mint ice cream! I would love to go with you! Don't you love this picture? I love my husband. I love my children. I just love the ocean. I love amusement parks. I could go on and on. The word love is used a lot in our current time and I think we don't often stop and really think about what love is. So, I went straight to scripture.
Most of us have heard this verse about 10,000 times if you grew up in the church and maybe half that if you didn't. It is used in weddings all the time and in all kinds of songs. But do we really believe it? Do we really think about what each of those lines means? And if you have, do you succeed all the time? I know I don't. I'm not patient and neither is my love. My love doesn't always hope, it angers easily, and sometimes is proud. I have failed in every single one of these. But I try! I try to be kind and patient and nonenvious and I try to persevere and hope. When I realize I am faulting in something, I go to God and ask Him to help me understand what I am doing wrong and fix it. (I have found the first step in fixing something is to realize you are doing it wrong to begin with. If you don't know you are wrong, how can you get right?) Sometimes I realize on my own but usually it is pointed out by my friends and family. That hurts. But they wouldn't correct me if they didn't love me, right? Oh dang, there's that word again.
Here is a challenge for each of you. Meditate on each of those lines up there. Take some time to really think about each of them and how you live them everyday with your friends, spouses, children, parents, co-workers, fellow students, whoever. Are you really patient? Kind? Honoring? Seeking others happiness above your own? Not easily angered? Do you keep a record of wrongs? Do you boast about your good loving deeds? Are you protecting those whom you love the most? Be honest with yourself. If you aren't sure if you are doing ok, ask those who love you the most. Be ready for their answer. They may just be honest and sometimes honesty is painful. Talk to your spouses. Your kids. Your friends. Whether you are a Christian or not, those lines are for you. They are for me. Love is a special gift and we need to treat it carefully.
