Love Is...

"1 Corinthians 13:4-8"

The truest form of "Love" is Agape love which is a Greek word that can be best described as selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love which is the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and his followers.

Let's try to break down the above scripture to truly understand the depths of what is being said:

Love is patient... Well, without patience how can we be loving to one another. Being short tempered shows a lack of love and respect for your partner, friend or family member. It shows selfishness and selfishness is not love.

Love is kind... Kind is another word for considerate. At times it's human nature to be less than considerate of one another's thoughts, feelings, needs and desires because we have very selfish tendencies. 

It does not envy... Envy is another word for jealousy. Now you can pretend that you aren't a jealous person but we all know its human nature to want what others have, which is called coveting. Coveting by googles dictionary interpretation says "Yearn to possess or to have (something)". Does that sound like you? Have you ever seen a nice car drive by and think to yourself "Oh, I want that car!" Well, that's coveting which is also a form of envy. You see where I'm going with this? We all have been envious at times and its a sin. 

It does not boast... Have you ever won a game or been given a promotion at work? Have you ever had that sense of pride over something? Maybe you lost some weight and now you are holding your head higher than you once were. Maybe your child was given an award at school for being the so called "best listener or best student in the class". Did you happen to show people those awards but not just because you were proud of their efforts but because deep down there was a part of you that felt that you needed to keep up a certain image to others... Have you walked around telling your friends of your new promotion at work and not just because it was a great achievement but because secretly you wanted to "out do" them. There's an extremely fine line between achieving something and being happy with the efforts put in and going around bragging about how good you are.. Truly test your own motives because Satan loves us to be boastful. You see the more we boast about "us" and "our" achievements the less we are acknowledging God for blessing us with our many talents. Without God we wouldn't of received those good things. That's why the saying "count your blessings" is so very literal. 

It is not proud... Pride and being Boastful are very similar. Pride is very sneaky because we want to acknowledge the good things that happen in our lives but its a matter of how we are acknowledging them. As a Christian the best way to take the focus off of "me" or "us" is to give all the glory to God. When our life seems to be going in order or good things are coming our way we seem to think that it was because something "we" did. Yes, we do have to put in the effort and the bible even tells us that but God does the rest. Thanking God for the many blessings takes away the prideful, boastful ways and allows us to be humble in our circumstances. 

It's funny, when our life seems to be going our way we are quick to accept it as our doing but yet when things aren't going well we are quick to blame God or for those non believers, quick to say where is your God now? Something to ponder over... 

It is not rude... Rude is another word for being impolite. Have you ever thought someones idea was rubbish and turned your nose up at the suggestion? Have you ever called people names or cut someone off in traffic? Have you ever cut someone off mid conversation because you thought what they had to say was quite boring or you felt you just had something better to say? Have you acted a certain way around people you are less fond of? The bible tells us to "love thy neighbour". That doesn't mean literally just your neighbour, it's the broader community. We are meant to love people in the Agape sense. We are meant to see others as our extended family. Yes, even those who have hurt us in some way.

It is not self-seeking... Self-seeking by google dictionary standards means "taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others" Sounds like selfishness to me. Can be as small as pushing in a line at the grocery store to doing everything in your "power" to get that promotion even at the expense of others. 

It is not easily angered... This has been covered in love is patient. Being easily angered shows a disregard for others. 

It keeps no record of wrongs... You mean that people can make wrong choices time and time again but I'm just meant to keep no record? Wow!! Isn't this one so very hard? I know I find it extremely difficult. I can say personally that this is the one that I struggle with the most. God is working very diligently with me in this specific area. Forgiveness is the key. I think we need to remember that forgiveness is not a way of giving those who hurt us a free pass, it's giving ourselves a free pass from being tied down by it. We need to remember that when we forgive others, God then can forgive us for our wrongdoings. Also, God can serve his form of justice on our behalf however he sees fit when we choose to forgive. Some people have had the unspeakable happen to them and can't imagine ever forgiving the perpetrator but the thing to remember is that when we choose to be unforgiving we are allowing anger and bitterness to grow into something ugly inside us that will eventually make it's way out. Forgiveness doesn't mean putting yourself back in a dangerous position either. You are just setting yourself free from the burdens in our lives allowing God to step in and start the healing process. Keeping a record of wrongs is dangerous.

Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

"Matthew 6:14: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Love does not delight in evil but always rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails...

No matter what life puts you through, always remember its the trials and tribulations we go through that bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. Our level of faith increases through our struggles if we just keep our eyes set on God. He always has a plan to bring us out of our valley. It may not be today, tomorrow or even a year from now but if you hang in there he is sure to reward us for our efforts. Perseverance is the key.

God Bless,

One of God's many children.