Do you agree with me that the word “love” is the most overused word in the English language? We have romantic love, family love, brotherly love, the love of material things, the love of food, the love of power or money or sex. God is love and He has a lot to say about how we love in relationships. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is the Scripture often used at weddings, but it can be translated into how we love others besides the people we spend our lives with.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or 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.
THINK ABOUT IT
What if we put the name of “God” in every place where the word “love” is. Better, since we are His followers, what if we put our name in that place. I’ll use my name as an example:
Sue is patient and kind; Sue does not envy or boast; Sue is not arrogant or rude. Sue does not insist on her own way; Sue is not irritable or resentful; Sue does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Sue bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
To be honest, I fall short in too many of the ways listed in this Scripture. I need God’s help to love according to His standard. What about you?
PRAY ABOUT IT
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us with a perfect love. Thank you for showing us how to love, but we fall short too often and we need your help. Let your love flow through us to those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Tell Me the Story 