AUGUST 29
THE DEFINITION OF LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. (WEB)
The English language has a single word for 'love' that encompasses a wide range of meanings. We use it to say we 'love' hot dogs and also to say we 'love' our children. The word 'love' can be a verb or a noun. Sometimes, when we casually say the word ‘love,' we don't really mean it.
The word 'love' can also lead to confusion. Parents tell their children they 'love' them, but sometimes they end up hurting them. Even the best parents are not perfect, and neither is their love. There is only one perfect love, and that is the love from God, for He is the very definition of love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul explains what love is. He describes many beautiful qualities of love in verses 4-8. If the love you've experienced here on earth doesn't match this description, then it is not the love that comes from God, because His love will never fail.
My prayer today is that we all be rooted and grounded in God’s love for us (Ephesians 3:16-21) and that we may have the power to grasp His immeasurable love through the Spirit. May every distorted expression of love shown to us in this life be consumed by the fire of God's steadfast love.
Let us all recognize that the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 actually depicts a person—and that person happens to be our heavenly Father! For God not only loves, He is the very definition of love itself!
1 John 4:16
We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (WEB)
Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. (WEB)
The English language has a single word for 'love' that encompasses a wide range of meanings. We use it to say we 'love' hot dogs and also to say we 'love' our children. The word 'love' can be a verb or a noun. Sometimes, when we casually say the word ‘love,' we don't really mean it.
The word 'love' can also lead to confusion. Parents tell their children they 'love' them, but sometimes they end up hurting them. Even the best parents are not perfect, and neither is their love. There is only one perfect love, and that is the love from God, for He is the very definition of love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul explains what love is. He describes many beautiful qualities of love in verses 4-8. If the love you've experienced here on earth doesn't match this description, then it is not the love that comes from God, because His love will never fail.
My prayer today is that we all be rooted and grounded in God’s love for us (Ephesians 3:16-21) and that we may have the power to grasp His immeasurable love through the Spirit. May every distorted expression of love shown to us in this life be consumed by the fire of God's steadfast love.
Let us all recognize that the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 actually depicts a person—and that person happens to be our heavenly Father! For God not only loves, He is the very definition of love itself!
1 John 4:16
We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (WEB)