4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
—The words of the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
As I writer, I always watch a movie with a critical eye, looking for the arc of the story. In the movie, Forrest Gump, the apex of the story arc occurs when Forrest confronts his life-long love, Jenny, with the words, “I’m not a smart man, Jenny. But, I know what love is!”
I sometimes wonder whether or not we know what love is. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our lives should have such a filling of His love that the love will flow out of us and touch the people around us. Sometimes, we suppress our love. We do this because someone has hurt us deeply, or because we’re afraid, or selfish, or angry, or—for a host of reasons.
It’s probably a good idea for us to take a little quiz, from time to time, based on the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post. We need to ask ourselves, “Do I really know what love is?”
- Love is patient.
- Love is kind.
- Love does not envy.
- Love does not boast.
- Love is not proud.
- Love is not rude.
- Love is not self-seeking.
- Love is not easily angered.
- Love keeps no record of wrongs.
- Love does not delight in evil.
- Love rejoices with the truth.
- Love always protects
- Love always trusts.
- Love always hopes.
- Love always perseveres.
- Love never fails.
So, how did you do? I know that I got caught on the ninth bullet point: “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” Why, I have a long list of people who have hurt me that goes way back to when I was 14 years old—over 50 years ago. Shame on me. I confess my sin of holding on to a painful past.
How about you? What stands in the way of you letting the love of Christ flow through you to touch the world around you?
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
I confess my sin of holding on to a painful past. I ask You, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to help me turn my back on those incidents where people have hurt me, and look forward to the pathway that You have laid out before me. Cleanse me through and through, I pray. And, for those praying with me in this moment, I ask You to reveal to them any barrier they may have erected to stay the flow of Your love through them.
Please continue to teach us how to obediently follow Your will. May Your Word come alive in our hearts, as we read it each day. And, help us to steadfastly follow that pathway You have set out before us. Thank You, dear Father, for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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