1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
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.
LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND.
It is not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud
That is a full description of what love is. There are times in life when we might question what love really is to us. When I was a teenager, I heard a young girl speak on 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. She said it was known as the love chapter. I didn't really understand that at all. Then she drew my attention to verse 12. Take a few minutes to read the Chapter now:
1 Corinthians 13 New International Version (NIV)
If I speak in the tongues 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.
VERSE 12:
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.
The teacher told me that verse 12 says it all. Through our moral eyes, we can only see certain things. Through our spiritual eyes things begin to unfold but we still won't know it all. Each day is a learning experience and growing closer to God is important. God looks inside of us daily and he knows the plans he has of reach of us. It is through our free will that changes things at times. God often gets blamed for things, but it's our own decisions that can change somethings in life. Let us not just speak about love, but live it.
Let us make those decisions good decisions and walk toward God in all areas of life. Seeking God with our hearts, minds and soul. The Chapter is the love chapter and I see that clearly now. Let us never forget that faith, hope and love go together, but love is the greatest of these.
Purpose this a good and be good to yourself!
~ Sparkie