Love

I have written twice on love. I wanted to add to my thoughts on some of what God has been showing me. The importance of love is stated over and over in the Bible. For example when Paul wrote to the Philippians, in ch1 vs9 he stated "I pray that your love will grow more and more." He did not pray for their faith, hope, physical health, giving, etc. All of those are, of course, important but what he chose to pray for was their love.

So how do we know if we are loving? We can get a love "check up" by studying First Corinthians ch 13 vs 4-8a. Verse four says "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant." (NASB) This verse is pretty straight forward. I need to be patient in all areas of my life such as being more patient with my children and more patient with Spanish learning. I need to be kind to everyone, even when a beggar comes by for the fourth time this week and it is a really inconvenient time for me but I must remember that hunger is always inconvenient for him/her. I should not be jealous of others or brag to others or feel superior to others. In fact I am to treat others as more important than myself(Philippians 2:3). How often do I truly treat others as more important than myself, especially if it is someone I have conflict with? Not enough is the correct answer.

Verse 5 reads "(Love) does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered." Most versions of the Bible substitute the word "rude" for unbecomingly probably because it is more familiar and easier to wrap your mind around. "Unbecomingly" is far broader. I cannot remember saying that someone acted unbecomingly in all my life. I believe it means I should do nothing that is unattractive in any way, especially to the cause of Christ. I can be "unbecoming" without being rude.

The phrase "it does not seek its own" means I should not be selfish or envious of what others have. The next phrase "is not provoked" means I must not be easily angered or irritated. Again an area of my life that needs work. The final phrase in this verse "does not take not account a wrong suffered" was a major issue early in my life. I could tell Dawn that she had committed an offense 3 years, five months, and 10 days ago, but who is counting? Thanks be to God I am married to an extremely forgiving woman who has taught me not to remember past wrongs but to forgive and not bring up stuff from the past. I have not perfected this concept but I am much better than when I married Dawn.

These verses are a good start for a "love checkup". I will finish verses 6-8 next time.