“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. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” -1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV
I love these verses from 1 Corinthians 13 on love. In fact, I love a good definition of just about anything. I like structure and processes and details. Having a clear understanding of something helps me make sense of it. Understanding what I’m looking at on a map helps me get from one place to another without getting lost. If I have a clear understanding of how to accomplish a goal, I am more easily able to achieve it.
The apostle Paul writes these words in 1 Corinthians 13 immediately following a passage on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
The very last verse he writes before beginnin to speak on love is, 1 Corinthians 12:31. The NLT says, “So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.”
Love is a way of life. Love is greater than any spiritual gift we can have. We are nothing without love.
Another translation of 1 Corinthians 13:8 from above reads, “Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!” – 1 Corinthians 13:8 NLT
I read something recently that spoke about moving through life with the desire to love others well. Each night at the dinner table, this family asked each other how they loved others well that day. What a great way to live life!
Friend, how have you loved well today? This week? This month?
If you do anything well in this upcoming week, love well. “Love one another.” Sharing God’s love with others is the most important commandment and the greatest gift you can give.
“Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.” – 2 John 1:6 NLT
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