The greatest commandment that Jesus gave us is to love God and to love others. Right now I'm having a really hard time loving. In fact, I'd really love to just tear into someone right now. But I know I need to love them, and that's really hard. We so often have this concept of love that says "I'm going to feel warm and fuzzy about this person." But real love is displayed when things are hard and we choose to love anyways. I was looking at 1 Corinthians 13 and I think that if we consider what is written there, it makes it plain to us:
"Love never gives up"
Sometimes we're going to want to give up. But love says that we're going to stick with it, despite how we feel.
"Love cares more for others than for self"
There are going to be times when I really want to take care of myself, screw everyone else. But I'm really showing love if I choose to care for them over myself.
"Love doesn't want what it doesn't have"
There's going to be times when we want the last piece of pizza and someone else wants the last piece of pizza. Love is letting them having it. In every relationship we're going to be jealous of the other person, love is being happy for them that they have it.
"Love doesn't strut"
When we win the game we don't shove it in the face of the other person, we encourage them and lift them up. We are going to have times where we want to be in the center ring, love is choosing to be the side show so others can have the center ring.
"Doesn't have a swelled head"
We're going to have times when we think we're the smartest, but love is setting aside our vast knowledge so the other person feels valued and they are given the chance to share what they have to offer.
"Doesn't force itself on others"
There's going to be times when we want to be close to someone and we hunt them like a lion. Love is giving them the space and freedom not to be hunted, but they are allowed to return their love freely
"Isn't always me first"
There's going to be times when we want to be first, love is letting others be first.
"Doesn't fly off the handle"
We're going to want to fly off the handle and tear into someone. Love is keeping those things under control so that when we speak we are seeking healing for the relationship and the other person knows that, even if we are upset with them, that we care for them and love them.
"Doesn't keep score of the sins of others"
So many times we keep a score card of how many times another person has hurt us. While it is unhealthy to allow ourselves to be continually abused, love is giving someone a clean slate so that the relationship can heal.
"Doesn't revel when others grovel"
There will be times when other people are at our mercy. We have the opportunity to take full advantage of those times, or we have the opportunity to lift them up and restore them to an equal relationship with us.
"Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth"
Let's face it, truth is hard. So many times we don't want to speak truth to someone when we know they won't like it. It's also hard to hear the truth when it is someone telling us how jacked up we are. But love says that we speak truth gently so that we can help each other and that bonds of trust can be built. Without trust, there is no relationship.
"Puts up with anything"
In a relationship, anything and everything will happen. Love says that we'll stick with it even when it is hard.
"Trust God always"
To love and to be loved is to make ourselves vulnerable. We are giving people access to our heart, and sometimes people hurt us. We have to trust God that He loves us more than any of us love each other, and that He will protect us, He will heal us, and He will restore us.
"Always looks for the best"
Sometimes the bad things will shine like the lights of Vegas. Love is looking for the pretty flower growing in a patch of grass and remembering that despite all the bad we see, good things are there. In the end, the good will overcome the bad. We have hold onto that if we are going to love.
"Never looks back"
There are going to be times when we wish for the good ol' days, but love holds onto hope that whatever the relationship, things will be better.
"but keeps going to the end"
We live in a world that gives up when something is hard. Love is not a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is a commitment to a relationship and a promise that we will work through all things no matter how hard it is. Love is the one thing that can overcome everything else, but love has to be more than a feeling for that to work.
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Sin has corrupted what we know about love. The movies sell it as something cheap and easy. The world says that it's all about you. But in truth, love is all about someone else if it is going to be the love that the Bible promises us. God is love, and to prove that He gave everything to pursue us. He wants us to receive that love, and to share it with others. When people ask why I believe in God, it's because I've experienced His love. My hope is that maybe, in some small way, I can share that love with someone else. I'm really struggling to love, it doesn't come natural. But I want to and I pray that maybe God's love can overflow in my life in some small way.
