Love is a universal language expressed differently, perhaps, but spoken by all throughout the world. In my morning Bible reading it was the common thread no matter the location in scripture. I pay special attention when a subject is raised so frequently.
A familiar text in 1 Corinthians 13, love is the closest we get to perfection on this earth.
1 Corinthians 13 - The Excellence of Love
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
The Love spoken of in Chapter 13 requires dedicated and purposed action. Chapter 16 gives specific instructions for life. Love is forgiving, accepting while strong and alert. It rather sounds like a description of Jesus to me.
Love, as explained in Chapter 13, is for the humble and strong of heart and will. It requires work, sacrifice and perseverance. Love is a purposed action verb. We must be diligent see that we stay focused to love as God would have us.
If love is as described in Chapter 13, then what is it if it does not measure up to that standard? Let’s look at a few of the descriptive words should that be the case: impatient, unkind, jealous, arrogant, unbecoming, self-seeking, provoking, counts wrongs suffered, rejoices in unrighteousness, untruthful, unbearable, unbelievable, and hopeless; endures nothing and fails. How could it not fail, given all that? It is not a pretty picture, is it? I have known relationships that fit right in with all those things, obviously not a love crafted and maintained to reflect a godly image.
As for me and my house, we shall seek to love and be loved as God intended and instructed in His Word. We love because He first loved us.
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