If I speak in the tongues of men and of
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I
have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If
I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not
love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not
envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but
rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they
will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass
away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes,
the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish
ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in
part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these
three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 ESV
This is a chapter that is very well know,
especially in the church. But how often do we really look into the hidden will
of God in these words. Paul gives us much direction and guidance, but with that
is a heart for the people. Often times I feel as if this chapter reigns up
there with the Proverbs 31 woman. We are told the words, listen to the sermons,
hear the vows, but the truth behind it seems so far out of reach.
The more you seek to know the true heart of
Christ, the more you become like Him. The Christ in you begins to show, and you
have feelings, emotions, and burdens you never imagined possible while in this
human form. You learn that the words in this chapter are not impossible, but
are in His likeness. I have been taught an incredible amount this last month
about being in the image of Christ, and being a model after Him. I always
thought I was following Him, and attempting to be like Him, but now I know. The
Christ in me permeates my every cell, my every thought, my every desire, and
its overwhelming. Yes, I am still human, and yes, I will still fall short, but
when your mind and heart align with His, and His will for you, you become
someone new. You become something new.
inspired. I am challenged and excited. I know that I love now, and not an
earthly love, but a love that only comes from above. I know that how I relate
with those around me has changed, as well as how I interact with them. I have
never felt so much love for my community, for my family. I have never wanted to
love, and have pure love, so badly before. It has become natural. It has become
me. So as I read further into this, here are a few things I have found.
NLV Commentary
Love is more important than all
the spiritual gifts exercised in the church body. Great faith, acts of
dedication or sacrifice, and miracle-working power have little effect without
love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. Although people have different
gifts, love is available to everyone.
Our society confuses love with lust. Unlike
lust, God’s kind of love is directed towards others, not inward toward
ourselves. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against our natural
inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside
our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return.
Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others.
Paul says that love ‘is not irritable’.
Sometimes we’re irritated or angered by others, and we don’t know why. Not all
irritability stems from sinful or selfish motives, although the irritable
treatment of others is surely wrong. Much irritability comes from a love of
perfection, a deep desire that programs, meetings, and structures be run
perfectly. A desire to run things perfectly can erupt into anger at events or
people who get in the way or ruin that desire. Those who are easily irritated
need to remember that perfection exists only in God. We need to love him and
out fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection here on earth.
Paul wrote that love endures forever. In
morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning.
Today, people are still confused about love. Love is the greatest of all human
qualities and is an attribute of God himself. Love involves unselfish service
to others. Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message; hope is the
attitude and focus; love is action. When faith and hope are in line, you are free
to love completely because you understand how God loves.
So as we love, where do we fit in? Do we
understand what God has called us to, or do we relate to those of Corinth? Has
lust over taken love, and does our selfishness take priority over those in our
midst?
I am in a place where my heart longs to serve
those around me in which I care about. I have developed a love I can’t explain,
and never would have predicted. I love those with hurts and pains, those with
wrongs and injustice, and I don’t want anything from them other than their
simple being. I want to be Christ to them, to speak life, to lift up, to
encourage, to walk along side of, and to love them just as they are.
have a big heart with a lot of compassion. But you would also know I had a
layer of attitude and selfishness that covered what was important. If you know
me today, you know compassion and selflessness are my daily goals. I am in no
part saying I know how to love,
or that I love better than
the next, but I will say I am on my way to being the woman He has created me to
be.
Its amazing what God can do through loving us…
Its amazing what we can do when we love others…
