What is Love?
Sometimes it is good to be reminded.
According to 1 Corinthians 13 (NLT)
One who loves.........
is patient
is kind
is not jealous
is not boastful
is not proud
is not rude
does not demand his/her own way
is not irritable
is forgiving by not keeping a record of being wronged
is not one who finds pleasure in injustice
rejoices and celebrates when truth wins out
never gives up
never loses faith
is always hopeful
is one who endures through all circumstances
If you.......
could speak all the languages of the world
could speak of the future or were divinely inspired
understood all the plans and ways of God
possessed all knowledge and understanding
had such faith that you could actually make mountains move
gave all you had to the poor
sacrificed your body on behalf of others
If you did or possessed all those things but did not love others, then...
you would only be a clanging symbol
you would be nothing
you would have gained nothing
For such things.......
will become useless
reveal only part of the entire picture
are partial and incomplete
will fade away
But.......
three things will last forever,
faith - hope - love
all these are great things, but the greatest of them all is love
I have read Corinthians many times but this morning
1 Corinthians 14: 1a (NLT) stood out in my heart in large, bold letters.
We may aspire to many things, great jobs, great homes, excellent levels of fitness, speaking many languages, titles, even greatness. In and of themselves they are not particularly bad things unless they get in the way of other things or cause harm.
1 Corinthians 14:1a says this:
LET LOVE BE YOUR HIGHEST GOAL!
Of all the things we try to do and be, of all the things - even godly things we work at being, of all the treasures and trappings of this world, of all the high positions, fame and notoriety, of all the things of life, God gives us this short, profound sentance. He even ends it with an exclamation point.
LET LOVE BE YOUR HIGHEST GOAL!
As you go out and plan your day, make being loving your highest goal.
While at work interacting with all kinds of people, make being loving your highest goal.
While you are trapped in traffic eager to get home, make being loving your highest goal.
While you are in a long line at the store, make being loving your highest goal.
If being loving has been a struggle, make today the day you set out on a new journey. Make today the day you set a new course for your life.
If life and family and friends have been difficult, let today be the day you let it all go and focus on being loving.
If life has been filled with trouble, disappointment, pain and suffering - let today be the day you cry out for love to be more of a part of who you are, let go and love.
LOVE SOMEBODY and LET LOVE BE YOUR HIGHEST GOAL!
(This doesn't seem to fit the line of thinking for today but for some reason, I believe God left this on my heart as I was writing. Perhaps one of you has a life that has not gone well and are overcome with fear. If you are trapped by fear because of life's situations, know that God's perfect love casts out all fear.)
Joyce Meyer has a writing that talks in great depth about God's perfect love and fear.
Search:
"Joyce Meyer love cast out fear"
Click on the first listing.
or go to
www.joycemeyer.org/articles/ea.aspx?article=perfect_love_casts_out_fear