September 12, the greatest of these
But the greatest of these is love – Part Two
I Corinthians 13:13
LOVE does not behave rudely (unbecoming), does not seek its own, is not provoked, and thinks no evil; love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. (I Corinthians 13:5-6)
Love is indeed the answer. Love overcomes. Love always defeats hate.
Perfect love remains the ultimate necessity of the human race, and of this present moment in our world. And, you dear Christian, have been equipped with such love. Therefore, the question for the moment asks, “how are you doing in the exercise of that love?”
The above verse offers the next 6 directives concerning Christian love (continued from September 10). First, love does not act rude. The old term is, “unbecoming,” which means to act out of sorts to what is expected as commonly good. This translation gets to the core of this term: love is not rude nor acts in a way that contradicts the source of love, Jesus.
Second, love is not self-seeking. True love does not seek the benefit of self but always for the other. I love the phrase of Philippians 2:3, “consider others as more important than yourselves.” Nowhere should this become more conclusively lived out than in the Body of Christ. True Christian love “does not seeks its own.”
Third, love is not easily provoked – love is not to be temperamental.” Moody. Easily bothered. Buttons easily pushed. Wow, this is getting personal! But, love truly does not find itself easily bothered. And love most certainly does not act in negative emotions toward others.
Fourth, Love thinks no evil, meaning, love does not keep a list of wrongs. This indicates that we do not hold up a list of wrongs and keep the negative appraisal of others replayed in our minds. Love just simply does not do this. There are those very critical mistakes that may take a significant amount of time to work through, but the goal remains to work past the wrongs done against you and toward healing and forgiveness. Love keeps no record of wrong. Love does not think evil of the other. Who is God calling you to forgive at this very moment?
Fifth, Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. When mistakes are made against the other, forgiveness should always be the goal. This should not, however, assume that wrongful acts should be overlooked, ignored, or tolerated between those who truly love one another. Who is God calling you to lovingly confront in the spirit of Christ? Loving but precise accountability for the wrong done should be a vital goal. If you are to confront some mistake in the life of another, make certain that mutual trust and respect are already be in place.
Finally, love rejoices in the truth. All that is right, including but not limited to the previous directives, should cause one to rejoice when present and to repent when absent. But, rejoicing in the truth is more than just being glad when the truth is evident. Rejoicing in the truth is desperately clinging in commitment to all that is right in God’s eyes concerning how you relate to others. This is what love does.
Thanks be to God and His precious Word for instructions concerning the real essence of love. We are indeed accountable to the truth presented by these Biblical principles. And we are responsible. Let’s go love as Christ as loved.
Blessings.
READ
Read I Corinthians 13:1-6 and recommit to loving well.