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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the end of 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, Paul promises to reveal the most excellent way to the Corinthian Christians and then delivers on that promise in chapter 13. There he lets them know it is all about love, that love is the most excellent way.
As we begin the second devotion in this series from what has been known as the Bible’s “Love Chapter”, we will embark on a journey through from verse 4 through verse 7 as the scriptures offer us a micro-look inside of the kind of love that God desires. Specifically, we find the Lord defining what love is and what it isn’t for us. Let’s begin by looking at verse 4 again:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
What kind of love does the Lord want us to share with others?
First, He wants us to show a patient love.
My wife and I have been together for nearly 30 years now. When we are going somewhere, I am ready to go very quickly but my wife needs more preparation time. I remember early on in our relationship getting very frustrated when I had to wait for her but then something happened.
The Lord showed me how to exercise patience out of love for my wife. Instead of getting upset about it, I learned to sit and wait for her until she was ready, understanding that it was important for her to feel like she had everything in place and looked beautiful before we left.
I’m so grateful for what the Lord has done within me as He continues to show me what loves looks like in my marriage.
Next, the Lord wants us to keep in mind that love is kind and that kindness can be expressed in a lot of different ways.
It can be shown through our giving to others, using our time, talent and/or treasure.
It can also be displayed through the courtesies we extend to other, like telling someone “thank you”, holding a door open for a person, or yielding the right of way to drivers on the road.
Additionally, it can be expressed through our words as we speak words of encouragement and compliment to one another.
Yes, there are many ways to express loving kindness to others which means each day carries with it opportunities to put thoughtfulness into practice. These opportunities are provided to us by God so that we might develop the kind of Lord He expects.
These are two things that love is but note that we are also told what love isn’t. These are behaviors and attitudes that God’s people are to avoid. They include:
1. Love does not envy.
Look in the dictionary and you will find this definition of envy:
Painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.
Within a relationship, this could possibly find a couple or one partner in a couple coveting what they see in another relationship. This could possibly be in the way of being jealous over the possessions someone else has, like a nice home or luxury car or lots of money. It could also come in seeing another couple’s happiness and love, and then develop a yearning that your relationship was the same. One partner in a couple might even see more beauty in another person’s mate and wish he or she was with them instead. This perhaps is the worst kind of envy because it serves to totally devalue the other partner in a relationship.
Love as God intends is never like this. He helps us see the deep worth in the one we love and understand that God has blessed us with them to share life with. He gifts us with our mates and we should see them as gifts from our Lord. When we do, there will be no room for envy, just appreciation and gratitude.
2. Love does not boast.
When we brag, we seek to elevate ourselves above another. We boldly and openly flaunt an air of significance.
The scriptures encourage us to live in different fashion. Consider this verse:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3
Value others above yourself.
Four simple words to live by and when we do, then we will surely love in a way that is free from boasting. We will also love in a way that shows humility and this leads to the final attitude that love isn’t associated with.
3. Love is not proud.
The Lord isn’t talking about pride in the context of being proud of someone. Showing you are proud of someone you love only lets them know how much you see value in them and appreciate them for who they are and what they’ve done.
God wants us to know through His word that love isn’t prideful or arrogant. It isn’t vain and it isn’t conceited.
Rather, it leads us to a place of humility as we give thanks to God for the opportunity to love others. It is He who brings people into our daily walk through life who need loved. All we need to do is to love them as He expects us to love with a patience and kindness that is absent of envy and boasting and pride.
Friends, this is just one message in this series from a single verse that contains so much substance and instruction to show us how to love as the Lord wants. Tomorrow, we’ll learn even more as we look at verse 5.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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