I
had a great visit with my mom and grandma Sunday afternoon. Although we see each other on a regular basis,
this was different. Grandma shared with
us so many stories about her past, mostly about growing up---so I was trying to
jot everything down when she said, “well I have written a lot of things down”
and with that we discovered many notebooks full of stories about her life. I loved reading every single word and can’t wait
to share some of the stories with you all.
All
of this took me to I Corinthians 13. Why
there? Well within all of her words lied
a very important characteristic…LOVE!
She doesn’t just say I love you, but she shows it in everything that she
does, and isn’t that the purpose of the words in I Corinthians 13.
It will never
matter what you do for people, how much money you give away, how hard you work
for the good, how much you know, how well you speak, or even how much of the
Bible that you know, if you don’t have love, if you don’t do these things with
the spirit of love then they are of no use.
That is really powerful, almost shocking when you really think about it,
but it is the complete truth and if you follow Jesus, you have to follow his
Word. So what is love? 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 (vs. 4-8).
This is so beautiful, not only does it describe what love is, but it
describes who Jesus is. So at first I think
gosh, there is no way I can always love like this, it seems to be just too
difficult, but then I realize that it doesn’t just happen…I have to make it happen. I have to apply all these qualities daily
into my spiritual life and I have to be honest with myself about where I am
weak. For instance, I have never been an
envious person, so not doing it comes natural for me, but long-suffering, now
that is a tough one for me. As I
continue to look over these few words I find myself awed once again by the
beauty of Christ, he just wants us to love…love him and love others. I think we throw around the word love so much
and forget how truly important those four letters are. Where would we be without it? It is vital for our survival. It is what makes us truly happy. It is the one word that can change a
situation. It is the ultimate
truth. It will help us to endure. It will give us hope. It will make us believe. And it, my friend, will never fail us.
So I leave you with a question
tonight…Are you just saying you love or are you showing love?
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