While the rest of the world celebrates love once a year, as Christians, we can celebrate God's love every single day.
You have probably attended a wedding at some point that quoted 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It is the group of verses that starts with "Love is patient, love is kind...."
It is a very popular verse used in wedding services and on days like Valentine's Day, but yesterday, as I sat in my children's homeschool group, one child was asked to read the first 3 verses that are usually not included.
I'm certain I've read these words in my Bible before, but yesterday they just struck me so powerfully...
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Without love in our hearts, without loving the way Jesus would love, and without the love that God has so graciously given us, we are nothing.
How many times have we done what we believed to be all the right things our Bible told us to do, but we did them minus the most important ingredient... LOVE?
On Valentine's Day, as the world gives out chocolates, candies, and flowers, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer asking God what things in your life can be done with just a bit more sprinkle of love. Or maybe a huge bucket of it 😉
As you ask the Lord to soften your heart with love in certain areas of your life, also take some time to read the popular verses in 1 Corinthians 13 4:8, but this time, insert your own name everywhere it says love...
(Insert your name in the blanks)
4____ is patient, ____ is kind. ____ does not envy, ____ does not boast, ____ is not proud. 5____ does not dishonor others, ____ is not self-seeking, ____ is not easily angered, ____ keeps no record of wrongs. 6____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7____ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8____ never fails.
Wow. What would my life look like if I truly lived out these verses that way? Amazing, I bet, and a true reflection of who our great God created us to be.
My friend, I am a work in progress, and so are you, but thankfully, we have God's love to see us through.
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