Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." NLT

Since God is love, try reading the above scripture and inserting "God" every time it says "love" or "it" to understand more about who God is.

I did a word study on this verse today to think about what love really means. Here are some words that I looked up.

Patient- enduring pain or delay without complaint
Kind- gentle, generous
Jealous- resentfully suspicious or envious
Envy- discontent over another's advantages
Boastful- talk with too much pride
Pride- Too high of an opinion of self. Satisfaction in ones achievements.
Proud- Haughty. (Not to be confused with Highly pleased with)

1 John 2:16 "For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world."

Demand- Strong request, requirement
Rude- Coarse (vulgar/offensive) Crude, impolite
Irritable- Easily angered or annoyed
Record- written account of
Wrong- not just or correct
Injustice- not right

In the NIV version of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:7 says; "Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Always- Continually, at all times
Protects- Shields from harm
Trusts- Belief in
Hopes- Trusts that what is wanted will happen

Hebrew 11:1 "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

Perseveres- Continues in spite of difficulties

God gave us a free will to love Him and to love others. God's love is outward not inward towards self. Love should not be confused with lust. God is selfless and His kind of love is the opposite of our sinful nature. It's impossible for us to have this Godly love for others without His help. God doesn't expect anything back. So the more we become like Jesus, the more we show others the love of God.

I guess we need to ask ourselves: "Am I following Christ with love towards others?"

Lord, I fail at your kind of love daily. I pray you would give me the ability to love like you love. Amen

1 Corinthians 13:13 "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love."