On Wednesday I asked the question "what is love?". We looked at 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the love chapter, for the answer. In case you missed that post, you can read it here. We looked at what love is and does on Wednesday, so today we're going to be looking at the seven things that love is not and does not do. Here’s the scripture for reference.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Love is not proud When I just looked up the exact definition of proud, some of the synonyms are joyful, delighted, satisfied, and glad. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? What's wrong with being joyful? Nothing. It's perfectly okay to be proud of yourself when, for example, you finish a difficult assignment or test. But pride for the wrong reasons and in the wrong things is sinful. Pride becomes sinful when you start to think that you're so much better than everyone else and that you can do everything on your own. Pride eventually leads to destruction (Proverbs 16:18) Love is not self-seeking A self-seeking person is always trying to do things that benefit themselves. They don't do things in regard to others. They're only worried about themselves and what they can gain. This is not showing love. When you love someone, you should be concerned with their well-being as well as yours. Love is not easily angered Everyone is human. We all make mistakes. But it’s important that when people make mistakes, especially people you love, you don’t explode at them for the tiniest things. As I said in the last post, patience is important for a loving relationship. Love does not dishonor others To honor someone means to put them and their needs above your own. Honor is also respect. Showing love to someone also means honoring and respecting them. Love keeps no records of wrongs If you keep a record of wrongs, that basically means that you hold grudges. I know from personal experience, grudges ruin relationships. I feel like this also ties into being easily angered. And angry person will be quick to hold grudges. Love doesn’t do that. Love does not delight in evil Someone who delights in evil is someone who enjoys disobeying God and enjoys sinning. I was once in a relationship with someone like that. And trust me when I say, it leads nowhere good. When you love someone, you should be wanting to to help them in their walk with God; and vice versa. Love never fails Ever. Even when you go through the toughest times, the people who truly love you will always be there for you. They will always support you. Always love you. Always respect you. No matter what happens, people who love each other will do everything in their power to not fail one another. I pray this mini series has encouraged and challenged you to love people the way the Bible commands us to. I know it's not always easy to love everyone unconditionally all the time, but it's what Jesus did and it's what He wants us to do. Even though it can be difficult, I believe that by using these scriptures as a guideline for what love is, we can love people the way we’re called to.
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The last part of our series is about love. I’ll be talking about the importance of love as a prerequisite for Wednesday and Friday’s post explaining what love is. My grandmother was one of the most loving people I’ve ever known. Regardless of who you are or where you came from, she loved you as if you were family. People in the church who weren’t biologically related to our family called her Grandma for that reason. It’s always amazed and inspired me how willing she was to just show love to everyone. I aspire to be like her; someone who people look at and say, “She’s just so loving.” The Bible is full of love. Jesus loves us unconditionally. Not only that, but He calls us to love others with that same unconditionality. Not just our friends. Not just our family. Not just the people who are nice to us. Not just the people we like. Everyone. Even—no, especially—our enemies. Since that’s a lot easier said than done, here are five scriptures to help you achieve that level of lovingness.
Proverbs 3:3-4 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. We’re supposed to carry love around with us always. We’re supposed to keep them in our hearts constantly. We do that, and we earn the favor of both God and man. In my opinion, loving my enemies is a very small price to pay for the favor of God. 1 John 4:19 We love because He first loved us. God loved us. While we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He loved us so much that He came to this world to die a sinner’s death, even though He was a perfect, innocent Man. The least we could do is show that same love to others. 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Of all the commands in the Bible, loving each other is the one that’s above all the rest. It covers a multitude of sins. It’s that powerful. Love drives people to do crazy things. Don’t just love on the surface level. Love deeply. Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Love is honor. We’re called to honor others above ourselves. To love others above ourselves. It’s what Jesus did. It’s what He does. And it’s what He instructs us to do. Mark 12:29-31 The first commandment is this: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. The two greatest commandments in the whole Bible are about love. That should say a lot to you. It says a lot to me. Clearly, love is extremely important. Because of all the commands in the Bible, the ones about love are the greatest. We’re called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Love your neighbor above yourself. Love is a word that gets thrown around a lot. But it shouldn’t. Anyone who knows me really well knows that I do not use the phrase “I love you” lightly. If I tell someone that I love them, I mean it with everything in me. Other than family members, I can count the number of people I’ve said those three words to on one hand. It’s just not something I feel should be thrown around. The Bible makes it clear that love is sacred. It’s valuable, and it should be treated as such. I know that showing unconditional love to people is no small feat. But it’s what Jesus did without thinking twice about it. And it’s what we were put on this earth to do. Join me Wednesday and Friday to dive into 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in order to really understand what love actually is. |
MissionIn short, I started this blog because I want to give girls all over the world hope. All of the topics I write about on this blog are things that I have struggled with or am still struggling with. I want to help young women everywhere achieve freedom through Christ. Archives
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