1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)
“If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
As I meditate upon 1 Corinthians 13, I ask myself if I love the way that God loves? Do I love unconditionally, fervently, and compassionately, with no strings attached? Does my love “cover a multitude of sins and faults” (1 Peter 4:8)? I didn’t grow up in church or in a “religious” household, so I never knew of a love like this before. I surrendered my life to Jesus when I was 19 years old, and that decision was simply because of God’s love. I didn’t know who God was, but I believed that He existed and I knew that there was a hole inside of my heart that needed to be filled. Jeremiah 31:3 states, “…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness, I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you”. My desire is to love others the way that God loves me. Not just in words but with my actions. I yearn to draw others to Christ through His love that flows inside of me.
God’s love has no limits, is unconditional, never changes, and is always forgiving. God’s love changes people’s hearts and transforms them into the most beautiful human beings. God had a master plan all along- He chose me; I didn’t choose Him. He drew me to Him through His love.
“Our society confuses love and lust. Unlike lust, God’s kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations. It is possible to practice this type of love only if God helps us set aside our own desires and instincts so that we can give love while expecting nothing in return. The more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others” (Life Application Study Bible notation p. 2024)
God’s love has set me free, and without it, I AM NOTHING.
With love,
Jenn