What is love?

Today I came across that famous passage about love in the Bible from I Corinthians 13:4-8a. I questioned whether I was really feeling lead to write about it. I only say that because it has been talked and written about so many times over the years. What could I possibly have to write about it that hasn't already been thought of? Yet, I feel that is what I am to focus on, and so I will do that.

In reading I Corinthians 13:4-8a, I read it as I have so many times, thinking how it is impossible to ever experience or give that kind of love. Patient? Kind? Not jealous? Not arrogant? That's just the attributes highlighted in verse 4! So far, I haven't met anyone who can do that, and, sadly, I am just as guilty.

I read and re-read that passage several times, and I finally knew what I wanted to say about it. Let me start by correcting myself, and say that I have and do experience the I Corinthians brand of love. Let me explain.

In I John 4:16, it says, "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in him." So if God is love, then He has all the attributes of love as cited in I Corinthians 13:4-8a. And better yet, if we BELIEVE in the love God has for us, we can live in Him, or in other words, that kind of love.

Maybe you have heard this before, but you can substitute the word "love" with the name of God in I Corinthians 13:4-8a. When we do that, we see what God is like to those who believe AND we realize that we experience that love every day. And thankfully so!

So, I Corinthians 13:4-8a could read: "God is patient, God is kind, and He is not jealous; God does not brag and He is not arrogant, He does not act unbecomingly; He does not seek His own, He is not provoked, He does not account wrong suffered, He does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; He bears all things; believes all things; endures all things. God never fails;"

Now, I could go through each of those attributes and explain further, but then this blog would never end. I will only make one comparison to make my point. If you think about God being patient, you have to admit this is true. How many times has humankind let Him down?? Too many times to count.

As an individual, I can attest to the patience of God as well. He has waited for me to submit to Him and His will so many times in so many areas of my life. He probably is still waiting for me to give over other aspects of my life. I just have not gotten there yet. Regardless, God could easily throw up His hands and declare me as hopeless. If I was Him, I probably would. However, He doesn't, and He waits patiently, like only He can. And when finally, that light bulb goes on for me, He welcomes me into that light and is there with me. To me, that is amazing.

What else is wonderful if you take I Corinthians 13:4-8a in conjunction with I John 4:16 is that we can give this kind of Love to others. If God abides in us and God is love, with all its attributes, then we have this love inside of us.

Yes, yes, I know...how am I supposed to be patient and loving to the woman in the check out line who is digging through her purse for over 10 minutes searching for EXACT CHANGE!? Unfortunately those are the times when we have to fight our human, selfish nature. If you refer to the previous blog entry, "Am I insane?", you can see how we fight within ourselves to do what we know is right, like loving others.

But don't be discouraged if you are having trouble loving others. Remember, just as God and love have all those same attributes, the last one mentioned in I Corinthians is the most powerful of all, "Love never fails;" And THAT, is what we have going for us.