Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
1 Corinthians 13 is sometimes referred to as the “Love Chapter” of the Bible. It is used in weddings, we read it on St. Valentines Day, and when we celebrate anniversaries. Have you ever thought to study this chapter in your everyday life and not just at those special days?
My pastor recently preached a sermon on this very topic and it challenged me to look deeper at God’s definition of love and how I translate it to my everyday relationships.
I first asked myself, “Who have you told you love lately?” My husband, my boys, my family, my friends? The answer, “Yes, sometimes, but am I showing them love the way God shows me?” Sometimes our words aren’t enough and we have show our love in actions as God shows us.
When studying 1 Corinthians 13 and our relationships, our first instinct is to look at the “what love is” part. What God tells us to do seems pretty simple. Love is…
- patient
- kind
- rejoicing in the truth
- bearing all
- believing
- hoping
- enduring
Most of us strive to be all of these things in our relationships and can easily measure how we demonstrate these traits of love. These are the obvious ways to show love. If we want to show love in the way that God teaches us to love, we must look at the whole picture.
What about the “does not” and “is not” parts of this chapter, what we are told not to do? These are the things we sometimes fail to evaluate in our lives. These are the things that are more difficult for us to identify and improve.
Love…
- does not envy
- does not parade itself
- is not puffed up (proud)
- does not behave rudely
- does not seek its own (selfish)
- is not provoked (easily angered)
- thinks no evil
- does not rejoice in iniquity (does not keep a record)
Take a look at the relationships in your life and decide if any of these are present. If so, work on these areas and your relationships will improve. My prayer is to have a marriage without a record of wrongdoings, a relationship with my children that does not anger easily, and a friendship without jealousy.
The thing about love is…”If you have it, you don’t need anything else. If you don’t have it, nothing else matters.” -unknown
Today I challenge you to look at the relationships in your life and see if you are showing love the way God intends or are you just going through the motions?
~ by Heidi of Heidi’s Miscellany
Thank you Heidi, for this challenge from His word! You’ve shared a fresh perspective so beautifully.
God is convicting me in so many ways that most of what needs to happen with my challenging child is a change in my perspective, and He just spoke to me again through your post! =) So much of what I do as a mom is “tough love” (because I am so concerned about not enabling), when sometimes she just needs to be shown grace rather than consequences. Thanks for posting this, I really needed it!
God does have a way of getting His message across at exactly the right time! I will be praying for you and your “challenging” child. I am dealing with one myself and sometimes the only thing I can do is seek Him for patience and understanding.