Love (Part 7)

What an honor it is to be loved by a faithful Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally right where we are, but He is also the ultimate example of what love is all about. There is no better way to learn about love than from the very author of love Himself. I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful to be on this journey towards a deeper understanding of God’s love. This journey has truly been a refreshing to my spirit in more ways then I can even express in words. We still have four more concepts about love to cover from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and they are, love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Let’s jump right in shall we?

“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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love always protects.

The Latin origin of the word “protect” literally means to cover over or to walk in front of. When we think of protection our minds often go towards our own desire to keep hurt, pain and suffering from those we love. This can not always be the case. Love may not take the pain away, but like a bandage, it covers over and protects the wounds that have already been inflicted. Love comes alongside and holds our hands when the road of life gets rockier than we anticipated. God’s love works in an even greater measure than this simple bandage analogy. God’s love not only covers our wounds, but His love actually brings the healing oil that allows those wounds to begin the healing process. When we love with the love of Christ, we bring not only the covering of God’s love to others (the bandage) but also the healing oil that can change a heart for eternity.

Love always trusts.

I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this one because putting it plainly, our humanness is not always trustworthy. I don’t know about you, but I have dropped the ball a time or two and have needed to regain trust in different areas of my life. When I read this verse my mind immediately reverted in that direction. How is it even possible for love to always trust when we in our humanness are not always trustworthy? This is why I love studying out scripture because the Lord has a way of changing my views on things, especially when I am careful to keep a teachable spirit about me. This word “trusts” comes from the Greek word “pistis” which means: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. So, in other words, love believes in others. Love has faith that God is going to work in the heart even in those moments when the wrong path might be chosen. Love has confidence in God that He is going to bring the heart to a place where it will call upon the name of the Lord and seek His face. The takeaway here is this, when we put our focus on the sin that people are entangled in, we will become discouraged, but when we put our trust, faith, and confidence in our Heavenly Father’s love for that person, it is then that our love for them has the ability to always trust. Not that we are trusting in their ability to choose righteousness, but that we trust in the ability of our Heavenly Father to give them a desire to choose righteousness for themselves. Love always trusts God’s ability to do His part in the situation.  

God’s love always trusts in us. His love always has full faith in our potential. Our Heavenly Father is our biggest cheerleader. He desires for us to succeed in His kingdom. He believes in each and every one of us! What a precious thought to know that the Lord is our greatest supporter no matter what we are facing. We might be choosing the valley of the shadow of death, but God believes in the potential that He has created us for. His love trusts in us!

Love always hopes.

This word “hopes” means to expect or anticipate. When love always hopes, it is expecting and anticipating great things. Just like we talked about our trust needing to be in our Heavenly Father to see change brought about in the hearts and lives of those around us, our hope needs to lie in those same hands. When we hope in people we will be disappointed time and time again, but when our hope is in the Lord and His perfect timing for those around us we will never be disappointed. God’s love never fails. We don’t always see things turn out the way we wanted, but that does not mean that love should stop hoping. God’s love expects beauty to come from our ashes, strength to spring forth from our fears, gladness to take the place of our morning and peace to replace our despair. These things are all possible because we have a God who loves hopes for us.

Love always perseveres.

I think there is a reason why “love always perseveres” is the last on the list in this section of scripture. The Lord truly has saved the best characteristic of love for last! GOD’S LOVE WILL NOT QUIT ON US!!!!! His love will never fail, never give up or run out on us. It will never fade, grow tired, or become weary. His love will never weaken, never waver or soften one us in the slightest. It is unshakeable, unstoppable, unrelenting and unyielding. God’s love is immovable, constant, persistent and endless. His love does not slow down, take a break or relax. God’s love for you and I is intense, unquenchable and relentless. His love seeks and saves! God’s love never stops, it always perseveres. Wow! It’s no wonder we have a difficult time loving with the love of Christ. How many people do we truly love with that much intensity? I know I have a long way to go in this department. I pray that God teaches me how to love with the intensity of Christ.  

Heavenly Father, there are not enough words to begin to express the gratitude in our hearts for the immense love you shower on us each and every second of every single day. Thank you that your love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Help us to love others in such a way that we put our trust and hope in you in their hearts and not become discouraged when they don’t choose righteousness. Thank you for this intense love that does not waver in the slightest over us. Thank you for loving us recklessly. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

To read any other posts from this series on God’s love please visit the Love series page.

Love (Part 6)

As we steadily work through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, I pray that we are beginning to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ truly is (Ephesians 3:18).

“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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

I believe this not only encompasses the actual wrongs that have been done to us, but maybe even more importantly than that, the wrongs that we perceive to have been done to us as well. If we are truly being honest here, we don’t see situations as they always are. Sometimes we get offended and get a chip on our shoulder all because we “think” we know what is going on, even if we “think” we know both sides of the story. Love holds the trump card against our freedom to get offended and dangle it over someone’s head. If we truly love, then we need to be willing to rise above the little black book of memories that we can have a tendency to cling onto until our knuckles turn white. Instead, we should be thankful for the precious moments that are set before us to make things right.

I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father does not keep a little black book of offended memories dangling over my head. If there was such a book it would not be so little because I know I am a sinner of the most tiresome kind. Not only does He not keep a little black book, but according to Hebrews 8:12, the Lord forgives our sins and remembers them no more. Our sins are wiped clean out of His memory when we place them at the feet of Christ. What an amazing kind of love that is! Sometimes I only wish I was that forgetful when someone has wronged me. It truly takes work to keep my offended self from wanting to throw up an entire black book of complaints!

Love does not delight in evil.

Love does not rejoice when others are hurting. Scripture tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). However, sometimes in our capitalistic society, we can have a tendency to rejoice when things don’t go as well for others, especially when their loss is our gain. This is not love!

We serve a God who does not take delight in evil, nor does He get any satisfaction from our pain. Christ loves us so much that He willingly took on our pain, not for His gain, but for our benefit, so we might have eternal life. Our God rejoices when we rejoice and mourns when we mourn. He hurts when we are in the throngs of a painful situation and His heart celebrates with us when we are rejoicing. What a beautiful picture of love!

Love rejoices in the truth.

Love turns it’s back on evil, but runs with arms wide open to truth. This is exactly what we must be willing to do. We must be willing to reject the evil and safeguard truth in our lives. Love flourishes in truth but is suffocated by evil. I am so grateful to serve a God whose very nature is truth.

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your love keeps no records of wrongs. I am thankful that your love does not delight in evil, but it rejoices in the truth. Help us to be filled with the kind of love that does not carry around a memory book of offenses towards others of when they have wronged us. Help us not to delight in evil, or secretly be happy when someone’s loss is our worldly gain. Help us to remember just how much pain you took on for our benefit. Lord, your love is truly amazing and we are forever grateful! We pray all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.  

To read any other posts from this series on God’s love please visit the Love series page.

Love (Part 5)

This week we continue in our study of God’s love by looking at “love does not dishonor, it is not self-seeking and it is not easily angered” from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

“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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love does not dishonor others.

The 1989 NIV version says “...It is not rude…” Love is never going to treat others with disrespect, dishonor, or be rude. Now that we know what love does not look like, let’s take a look at antonyms of this list of words in order to better understand what love should look like. The opposite character trait of disrespect is respect. The word respect means to esteem highly or to identify a sense of the worth or excellence within a person. When we are loving someone with respect we are willing to search out the good in them and formulate an opinion of them based on those good qualities. Wow! This truly is a skill that takes practice and persistence in order to carry out, especially when we come across those who seem to be unlovable. Our Heavenly Father’s love is one of respect. He always has the best in mind for His children.  

The opposite character trait of dishonor is honor. We should hold others in such high regard that they walk away from us feeling like they have just spent time with the Father Himself. When we interact with others we should always view them through Christ’s eyes. Every person on this entire earth, no matter how much sin they might find themselves entangled in, is created in the image of God. We should have no difficulty treating others with honor when we keep that thought in the forefront of our minds.

The opposite of rude is kind. We discussed in part 3 that love is kind. When someone is kind they actively search out the strengths of others. People who are kind elevate the good in others. We all enjoy when others treat us with kindness. We should be willing to love others in kindness.

Love is not self-seeking.

I have always said that babies are the most selfish living being on the face of the planet, and for good reason. If they were not wired with the “me first mentality” then they would far too often get overlooked and their basic needs would not be met. Think about it, when a baby cries they are usually trying to communicate some type of need. They are hungry, tired, need changed, or they are sick. If they never cried how often would we as parents miss their feeding times, napping times, changing times, or not recognize when they are sick? In the case of a baby selfishness is a matter of survival. As we grow up we should slowly grow out of this need for constant attention. However, some of us find ourselves in the battle against selfishness each and every day. We much rather be served then serve. The love of Christ does not desire for us to come bearing gifts every time we enter His presence. Christ came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). This concept of selflessness can be a tough one in our American culture today. We live in a generation that is obsessed with the “selfie.” We  want so badly to appear as if we have arrived, we have it all together and that we have life figured out. If you think I’m off track on this just a little, take a look at Facebook or Instagram. When was the last time we or any of our friends posted the challenges we are facing in our life? All we post is things that make us look “good.” The reality is never what is posted on social media. Social media is a incubator for shelf. I’m not bashing those platforms by any means. I utilize them myself, but when all we post are things that elevate self then we better reevaluate whether or not self-centeredness has replaced a love for others.

I am so thankful that Christ’s love is not selfish. If it was, He would have gotten as far as the Garden of Gethsemane and decided that He didn’t want to suffer for the sake of others, that the pain of the cross was not worth it to Him. Self could have sat on the throne of His life. If this were the case, the blood would never have been shed and my sins, your sins or for the sins of every person who ever lived and who ever will live. This certainly would have been an eternal sentence for every last one of us to hell. I praise God for an unselfish love because it means freedom from sin and the gift of life eternal!

Love is not easily angered.

Someone who is easily angered is quick to lose their patience with others. Anger in and of itself is not sinful, it’s when we act upon that anger and allow our temper to get the better of us. We can be angry and not sin. Ephesians 4:26 tells us “In your anger do not sin Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” Instead of having a short fuse in the anger department scripture tells us we are to be slow to anger. “... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19 Again, not that we can’t get angry at times, but we should be slow in getting there. We are to have patience with others. In part 3 we discussed that love is patient.

If God’s love was full of anger, His fuse would be short, He would be impatient and I would probably have already been burned up by His wrath. But instead, God’s love is not easily angered and patient with me. I am incredibly grateful for this! How about you?

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your love does not dishonor, it is not self-seeking and it is not easily angered. I pray that you help us in each of these areas so that we can love others with honor, respect, and kindness. Help us to keep our eyes off of ourselves and on others so we can love unselfishly. Father may your love flow through us in such a way that we are extremely slow to anger and frustration and quick to be patient with those around us. Lord, we still have a long way to go in some of these areas. I pray that your holy spirit comes in and takes over our hearts so that it’s not us trying to love like Christ in our human capabilities because we know that this is limited. May you work in us so that your love flows directly through us straight to the hearts of others. Thank you for your beautiful example of love. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray.  

To read the other posts in this series please visit the Love series page.

Love (Part 4)

Last week we began looking at Love being patient and kind from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Today we are going to continue our study of God’s love by progressing through this section of scripture and examining that love does not envy, it does not boast, and it is not proud.  

“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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love does not envy.

The word envy means to have a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc. (Dictionary.com). Love does not want what others have. Love is perfectly content right where it is at. One of the biggest enemies we face here in America is the desire to have more, bigger, better, the latest and greatest thing available all because we see our neighbor with it. This desire is not loving. This discontentment puts our desires and wants before others. Scripture clearly states that we are to think of others interests before our own (Philippians 2:4). When we are too busy focusing on the next best thing to go buy or to get ourselves “ahead” we are missing out on any possibility of being able to love others as ourselves (Mark 12:31). When we are caught up being envious of others we are incapable of love because we are too self-indulged. Love does not look inwards. Love always looks outwards others. Envy will always have you looking inward to a place of discontentment.

I am so thankful that God’s love is not envious. God does not get discontent when I get a new job, or when I buy a new car. In fact, the opposite thing happens. God is the one behind the scenes opening the door for us to get that new job, and making our budgets work so a new vehicle can be possible. He rejoices over us in those situations, not because of the “stuff” we are getting, but because of the gift, He is giving to His children. Our response to the Lord in these situations is to recognize His hand in orchestrating our situation and give Him the praise He is worthy of. God’s very nature is not one of envy or discontent, it is one of desiring for us to grow and mature in the kingdom.

Love does not boast.

When someone is boastful they speak and think more highly of themselves than others. Boastful people will purposefully tear others down just to get the glory and praise. Boastful people are filled with arrogance and pride. There is nothing about boastfulness that is loving. When we feel the need to make others look bad in order to “get ahead” we have fallen so far off the love barometer it’s not even funny. God’s love does not boast. God does not make us look like a pile of junk so He looks gets all the praise. God does not have to make us look bad. In our human flesh, we are already weak. The best part about our weakness is that His strength has the ability to shine forth. In our weakness He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). In our weakness, all of the honor and glory goes right where it belongs, in the hands of our omniscient creator.

Love is not proud.

Similar in meaning to boastfulness is pride. I truly believe that pride can start out innocently enough then turn its ugly head and get us into a boatload of trouble in a hurry. Let me explain what I mean by this. We can be proud of ourselves for accomplishing a goal, but the second we begin to elevate ourselves above others is the very second that pride becomes sin. Love will always be abruptly halted by “self.” When we begin to put ourselves in some form of hierarchical order we have just cut off the flow of love entirely. Love does not elevate self but always elevates others.  

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your love does not envy, it does not boast and it is not proud. I thank you that you have clearly shown us a pattern in your word for love. Help us not to be envious of others, but rather to be thankful for what we have. Protect us from the spirit of boastfulness and pride. Show us ways to elevate others above ourselves so that your love can be seen in us and through us. We ask these things in Jesus precious name.

To read other posts from the series about God’s love please visit the Love series page.