1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - 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. Love never fails.
I love that the first attribute of the Spirit that is
mentioned is love! God is the very embodiment of love so this makes perfect
sense. We read in the Word that greater love has no man than to lay down his
life for a friend – and that is exactly what Christ did for us. Our Savior and
the Father God love us in a manner that is unrivaled; it is perfect.
The love of God is patient; in no rush for results. In fact,
the word tells us that “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2Peter 3:9). The ultimate
patience! The love of God compels Him to wait for us, His precious children, to
come to Him and fellowship with Him and to become all that we are designed to
be. Further, His love is kind, non-envious, not boastful or proud, it’s honoring
of others, and seeks our good. He is not easily angered but abounds in
forgiveness. He celebrates the truth! He is our Protector. Some translations,
rather than saying “always trusts”, will have some form of “believes all
things”. This is a little better way of saying that godly love is inclined to
believe well of all – to see beyond the outwardly obvious and believe well of
its subject. And Matthew Henry says, “…when, in spite of inclination, [love] cannot
believe well of others, it will yet hope well, and continue to hope as long as
there is any ground for it.” The love of God always hopes and always perseveres.
This is the love of our Father and this is the love which lives inside of us.
And although we are imperfect and sometimes will mess up, the love of God never
fails.
Last week we looked at some life verses. This would be a
great one to memorize, meditate upon, and to allow ourselves to be led by. Even
in our humanity, we have the ability to love in a godly manner. So sweet.
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