“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I Corinthians 13:4-7
“So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” I John 4:7
I purposely started out today’s devotion with scripture. In light of everything that is happening in our nation, all of the opinions, debates and arguments plastered everywhere … it can become a heavy burden if we allow it. There is pressure to choose sides, and criticism is around every corner no matter what we do. I’ve asked God how will we ever come to unity and is it even possible. I keep coming back to the verse found in I Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” We certainly need faith, hope and love during these times, but the bible declares that the greatest posture is that of love. When we choose love, we choose others.
Love is a powerful force. Possibly more powerful than we can humanly comprehend. It is from God, and the bible says every good and perfect gift comes from Him. So that means love is perfect – it is foolproof, reliable and never-failing. Think about when you receive an amazing, most perfect gift from someone. You get so excited and you want to tell everybody about it. You try to be as descriptive as you can because it’s such a great gift, it's what you've always wanted – and it’s all yours! Well, let me take a moment to describe to you one of the greatest gifts ever given to us:
It is patient
It is kind
It does not insist on its own way
It does not rejoice in wrongdoing
It casts out fear
It covers all offenses
It does no wrong to his neighbor
It lays down his life for his friends
It is not arrogant or rude
It binds everything together in perfect harmony
This is the gift is love. You're telling me it binds everything together in perfect harmony? Isn't that what we’re all petitioning for? It is apparent that much of the world hasn’t received this gift. They haven't unwrapped it and aren't yet aware that it even exists. The great thing about it is, it was given to us with the expectation that we would regift it! In fact, it is His commandment that we do. Our responsibility is to share it with others without condition. You mean, even when they did me wrong? Yes. Even when. John 15:12 says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” He loved us so much that He accepted us just as we are; flaws, failures and all. We are instructed to love one another in the same way. It sounds so simple and yet so profound that love is the answer to the world's current problem. This would be a much different place if we simply chose to love. It begins with us and is the very thing that will point others to Christ. Let's see what can happen when we "let all that we do be done in love". (I Corinthians 16:14)
John 13:35 "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
I Corinthians 13:4-7; I John 4:18; Proverbs 10:12; Romans 13:10; John 15:13; Colossians 3:14
Prayer:
Lord, You have given me the perfect gift of love that has the ability to conquer fear and cover all offenses. Today I make the choice to choose love "even when" and to love others as You have loved me.
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