Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.
Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do.
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.
Love never fails! 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (CEV)
If I were Thomas Jefferson and began tearing out pages in the Bible and if I kept only these four verses, I might be able to still live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. If these verses were some of those torn out, I don’t think I would be surprised because they are hard to live! Look what it says if I paraphrase these verses:
Loving is about being gentle, considerate, and compassionate and tolerant. It is not being envious or bigheaded, conceited, self-righteous or bad mannered or vulgar.
Love is not egotistical or self-centered and does fly off the handle! Loving does not keep a mental list of everyone else’s mistakes so I can show them how much better I am… and forgetting that Jesus is my standard.
Loving celebrates the truth but does not use it as a weapon. Loving is never about controlling or hurting someone. Evil, the characteristic of satan and his buddies, has no relationship with true love.
Loving is always encouraging and helpful, dependable, supportive, and faithful.
Love does not fold!
Did you come up with some other phrases? Did you feel some conviction like I did? I bet Paul did also as he was writing this!
Love is so about emotion. And because of that, it is full of pitfalls. Despite any of my best efforts, my flesh can manipulate me causing love to be manipulative. Some call it passive-aggressive behavior. Love that makes my heart break can bring me to pull away so I will not be hurt again. It can also mean that I will do more for someone than what God wants me to do. I get in the way of God doing what He needs to do in that person’s life. I try to save the person when God wants them to turn to Him and they may not do that until they are in the place where He is the only One to whom they can turn!
God is love. And so it makes sense that I ask God to teach me about love. The world has perverted love and twisted it so that it is unrecognizable to what God has given. Let us learn from the Master.
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,†says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.â€
Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
love is everything to me its the person i want to be, my friend died in a crash one day, walking my dog i felt the pure beautiful warm uncondisinal love, a love ive never felt before or since my friends face came to me he was smileing about 30 years old he had gone to the heavenly farther i just remember the beautiful beautiful love, i felt safe i felt gods loving kindness i wish it had not gone but as my friend went the beautiful love whent i still remember him and the love i hope the feel that lovea gain in god my farther peace and love be on him, god is enough, i am sorry , i may sound crazy but i can not tell you how this love felt words can not explain it i hope you understand me to this day im overcome with this love