As we enter the month of February our focus is love. In this coming month we will delve into the four aspects of love. The first, of course, God’s love for us. It is the most powerful definition of love. In order to measure it all we have to do is read 1 Corinthians 13. It is how we should aspire to love yet we often fall short. This is not a flaw or a mark against us.
We can only set our goal to love like this. This is the ‘target’ that we shoot for and aim to hit. It is a good goal for us to work toward having this type of love. However, we also need to accept that we may continually fall short. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
1 Corinthians 13
The Way of Love
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Aspects of Love
- Patient
- Kind
- Not Envious
- Doesn’t Boast
- Isn’t Arrogant
- Is not Rude
- Doesn’t insist on its own way
- Is Not Irritable
- Is Not Resentful
- Does not rejoice in wrongdoing
- Rejoices in the Truth
- Bears All Things
- Believes All Things
- Hopes All Things
- Endures All Things
- Love Never Ends (Fails)
The Four Types of Love Defined
- Agape – unconditional love. This is the love God has for us. It is the embodiment of what 1 Corinthians 13 is written about.
- Eros – Sensual or Romantic Love. This is the type of love shared between two people. Sexual desire, physical attraction and physical love. This is the difference between wanting one person and wanting multiple people. The difference between being in love and loving someone.
- Philia – friends. It is a powerful deep, emotional bond between two people who share commonality; values, interests and/or activities. Trusted confidents.
- Storge – empathy. It is a love that develops naturally between family members, parents and their children, siblings. Or through familiarity or bonding by chance.
The Love Of Our Creator
The focus of this post is Agape love. The love that our creator has for us. Agape is an unconditional love. It is REALLY hard to give unconditionally. We like to think we can and sometimes we do, for a short while, until the flesh starts to rise up and we have to fight against questioning what we are doing and why. We struggle with ourselves. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” We are fighting a spiritual warfare. We are often so absorbed in what is happening to our flesh, in our physical world, that we forget the fight isn’t ‘here’.
It is one of the biggest reasons we are called to pray. We need to pull our minds back and remember that it is a spiritual fight. One that we fight on our knees in prayer. It is why we are to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the attacks we are under. All you need to do is look around at what is happening in society to recognize that we are fully under attack.
Yet, when we ‘forget’ that this fight isn’t a physical one but a spiritual battle, God is patient. He waits on us. He waits for us to remember His word and to trust in Him. He is Kind. When we finally do ‘wake up’ and realize we need to fall to our knees. That we need to pray and meditate on His word, He doesn’t chastise us for our forgetfulness. He doesn’t shake a finger at us for taking all these troubles and cares as our personal burden. He waits for us to remember to cast all our cares on Him.
God doesn’t desire to have what we. Although He is a jealous God, He is not an envious God. There is a difference between jealousy and envy. We need to remember that. Often times we will mix the two up. However, envy is desiring possessions whereas jealous is being fiercely protective and vigilant. We, on the other hand, interchange these two. We become “jealous” over things that we desire to possess.
When we do ‘own’ something, we often tend to boast about it to other people. This is where the ‘love of money is the root of all evil’ comes into play. We could exchange ‘money’ with ‘power’. The love of power is the root of all evil. We see this more and more. People who have a lot of wealth, who think they are better than others. Who desire to control other people and boast about how they have used other people to get to their position of power. They become arrogant and rude while they are drowning in their positions believing they are better than others. (I am not going to go into how God removes and sets up leaders as this post isn’t about that.)
We Have The Power to Choose
When we get to the part of 1 Corinthians about love not insisting on its own way. The greatest thing I can point to is the fact that God gave us FREE WILL. In other words, we are not forced to choose Him and the path He has set out for us. We are not forced to follow His will in our lives. He has given us a choice.
We also know that God doesn’t get irritable, although the word does speak about His righteous anger. Again, there are subtle differences in the meaning of words. This is why education is so important. In order to really understand what the Bible speaks about we have to know definitions so we can fully comprehend what the word is telling us. We also know that God isn’t resentful. He doesn’t get angry when we wander off the path He has for us. He doesn’t get angry at us when we find ourselves out in the brambles and losing our way. No – He is PATIENT AND KIND while waiting for us.
We know He doesn’t rejoice in wrongdoing. The very first story we learn is the fall of Adam and Eve. They were disobedient. He wasn’t happy that they did what they weren’t supposed to do. He wasn’t happy when Cain killed Able. He did discipline them in a manner that they would benefit from. In a way that would allow them to see His mercy and grace in their lives. Even though God was disappointed in what they did He wanted to hear them speak the truth. He wanted them to recognize what they had done. Then we could rejoice and know that there was a way back to Him. It set in motion the path for Jesus to sacrifice on the cross for us.
The Greatest Love The World Has Ever Known
It is in the life and death of Christ that we see that love bears all things. Jesus offered up His life as a sacrifice. Why? He bore the burden of our sins so that we could rejoin the family. He BORE the BURDEN for US. All of our sins. Not just some of them. ALL OF THEM. What a heavy weight that was and is. No one else could have done it. Love BEARS ALL THINGS.
He did it because He believed in us. He believed we were worth saving. He believed that the sin that marred us didn’t need to keep us down. He believed we should have the opportunity to ”turn from our wicked ways” to call upon the Lord. He believed we should have the chance to worship our Father in Heaven and that He would Hear us and respond.’ He believed in the reunification of family.
Our hope is in God. It is hope that gives us strength in the darkest of times. God is OUR hope in all things. No matter the situation or circumstances we have an anchor in time of crisis.
Love Endures All Things
God’s love for us endured the loss of His son on the cross. How painful it was for Jesus to see His Father turn away from him when he was on the cross taking our sins upon himself. Jesus belief and hope in our reunion with the Father was His Focus. He endured not just the physical pain of crucifixion but also the emotional pain of loss of connection with His Father. He bore this so we wouldn’t have to. What an amazing love that is!
Love Never Ends
God’s love is eternal, everlasting, it is forever. He is the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He is omnipotent. Almighty. He gave us the greatest sacrifice of love. He didn’t do it for Him, He did it for US. Then He went a step farther and gave us the ability to CHOOSE if we would accept His gift. This most incredible sacrifice that was given. This most wonderous, beautiful gift that was offered, He lets us make the decision to come and be part of His family.
He knows we will stumble and fall along the path. Yet, when we accept Him into our lives, it isn’t the failure that is the focus. It is the acceptance of a gift. A gift that teaches us how to truly love. A gift that lets us know that even when we are weak, He not only can, but will make us strong. He offers us a place of refuge in difficult times. He offers us peace. He helps to turn our weeping into joy. Our mourning into dancing. He is steadfast and patient when we wander off the path that He has called us to. He did ALL this and so much more because He Loves Us! He has called us for such a time as this!
Know that God loves you. Know that we can all put into practice the many facets of 1 Corinthians 13. It isn’t a secret recipe. It is attainable and real. We can love the way that God has taught us to love. There has never been a more relevant time in our lives than now to practice and show God’s love. Be strong it the Lord and the Power of His Might.
Do you want to know more about God’s love?
Would you like to have a personal relationship with Him? The first step is accepting Christ into your heart. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) . God hears even the simplest of prayers. All you need to do is to recognize you are a sinner and need forgiveness. Say a prayer to the Lord acknowledging these things and invite Jesus into your heart and life as your personal Lord and Savior.
Our relationship with Christ is personal. However, when we first accept Him into our lives, we need to find people who are like minded. We need a body of believers to help support us. With so many churches not being able to meet due to the current pandemic, this may seem like it is impossible. I want you to know it is not. There are so many believers out there and so many churches. If you are on Facebook I would recommend finding one and being a part of the community. I generally do not do this, however, I don’t want to leave you with nothing therefore I am going to post a link to a church I know is on fire for the Lord. Again, there are many out there that you can find on your own. I just want you to have a place to start with your fellowship. 🙂