An Important Biblical Truth You Need to Know About Love

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It’s long been called the “love chapter,” one that has been shared at countless weddings over the years…

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

Culture confuses love with that warm fuzzy feeling we get at weddings as two people gaze into each other’s eyes with family, friends, and festivities making it all seem like a beautiful fairy tale. But unlike the “happily ever after” ending of your favorite prince and princess story, real-life love is so much more than that inner feeling.

The love God gives and wants for us is directed toward others no matter how we “feel.” As the LAB Notes say, it is “utterly unselfish!”

And the truth is . . . that kind of love, the kind of love God wants for us, is impossible without His help.

It is impossible, without God’s help, to be patient and kind, humble and gentle, unselfish and hopeful with a love that lasts forever.

Why?

Because our sinful human nature is selfish and without God’s help . . . selfishness ultimately wins.

But with God’s help and the power of His Spirit – we can put aside our selfishness and love like Jesus.

Jesus’ love is love in action. It is love that sacrifices and gives. It is caring and compassionate. It trusts and hopes.

When we surrender ourselves to God’s love and He fills us with His Spirit we are blessed with the words of maybe the most frequently quoted words from Scripture…

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

A Prayer to Live the Truth About Love

Father, You are love and You love perfectly and faithfully. Your love never fails and never ends. You are patient and forgiving and today I ask You to forgive me. I want to love the way Your Word tells me You want me to love. I want to be a humble encourager, patient and forgiving, understanding, compassionate, nonjudgmental, and full of faith and hope. But the truth is I’m not. Please forgive me. Give me the strength to ask for forgiveness from the people I have not loved well.

I am learning that love does not depend on my feelings. Loving the way You want is to pour out into others the love You pour into me. On my own, I can’t love that way but with Your help, I can. Your Word reminds me that I can “do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) You promise that when I focus my heart and mind on You—when I SEEK You first, You give me everything I need . . . even the ability to love like Jesus. (Luke 12:31)

The truth about love, Lord, is that the closer we are to You the closer we will be to each other. The more we surrender our lives to Your love the more we are able to love one another. Your grace and love overwhelm me. Your love truly is the greatest gift of all! I thank You and pray that by Your grace and with Your help I might love like Jesus. In whose name I pray. Amen.

The truth is everyone on the planet craves love. We know that children fail to thrive when they don’t receive nurture and love. We think we want the warm fuzzy fairy tale love and that’s a wonderful thing when it happens but that emotion cannot last without unselfish patient forgiving caring love that demonstrates itself through words and actions.

Love that, praise God, He gives to us so that we can give it to others.

On today’s note write:

The truth about love is . . . we are loved by God to love Him and unselfishly love others.

I’m praying that you are overwhelmed by God’s love today and every day.

Click here to read the rest of 1 Corinthians 13.

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