Daily Light from the Lighthouse
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Trying to define the word "love" is almost impossible. There are so many different views of what true love is. Some seem to condense it down to an emotion; others define it as a purposeful decision. Love has been blamed for wars and strife; love has been described as eternal bliss. How do you take a subject with so much meaning and define it with words? It is impossible!
Love can only be defined by its actions. That is how the Apostle Paul chose to define love in this passage. Anyone can say that they have love, but the evidence of their words is in how they express it. Love must be real and tangible; it cannot be a vague sentiment expressed only in certain situations or on certain days. When we begin to love like God loves, our lives reflect it continually.
John told us in one of his epistles that God is love. He is the embodiment of the word, because it is His very nature. We know love better when we see God and know Him personally. There is a way to know God and His nature better by using our passage above. Before each sentence in this verse, place God's name there. "God suffers long; God is kind...God never fails." We often sing and speak of God's amazing love, but I do not think that we will know how true that is until we stand in His glorious presence face to face. We only have a partial understanding of Him now as if we are looking in a mirror dimly, but can you imagine the enlightening moment when we appear before Him in all of His glory?
It is now our responsibility to define God for others around us in this world. We must be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and the love of God. We cannot love by words without actions, because it will simply ring hollow. We must show God to this world through our actions. Many have heard of love but few have truly seen it!
May you love like God today!
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