Loving
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
I have no doubt that we all aim to be loving people. So I wonder how accurately this list of love’s attributes describes you. I suspect that the truth is that we all find this list somewhat painful. Yes, we would love to be like this, but then things happen. We get tired; we feel frustrated; people annoy us and we end up being anything but loving. What we need to realise is that the perfect love that is being described here is a picture of God himself. There is no way in which we are going to be able to love like this without God’s help. We need the Holy Spirit to fill us and to give us the strength to be loving in every situation.
The Greek word for love that is used in this passage is agape. It is the kind of love that keeps loving whatever happens. This is the love that God has for us. He loves us because he loves us and will keep on loving us whatever we do. It was the love that the father had in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The son had treated his father so badly that he deserved to be severely punished. But the father couldn’t stop loving his wayward son. Every day he stared at the horizon hoping that this might be the day of his son’s return. And when his son did return, nothing could suppress the father’s joy; he rushed to greet his son and welcome him back home. That’s agape love, and it is the love that God has for us –undeserving as we are.
May all of our efforts today be full of love, but let’s not try to do it in our own strength. We need the Spirit’s help.
QUESTION
In what situations are you particularly aware of your need for God to help you to be more loving?
PRAYER
Loving God, thank you for the perfect love that you have shown me. Help me today to allow your Spirit to strengthen and direct me as I seek to pass on your love to others. Amen