This is the final installment of my series on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. The purest form of love we will ever know, was demonstrated through Jesus Christ Easter week. In Paul’s writings in 1 Corinthians 13, he is conveying to us how we are to demonstrate pure love, Christ love, to another person. Are we up for the challenge? Let’s look at the rest of the verse then I’ll summarize the series. This may be a bit long but Easter deserves my best. Again, if you have missed any part of this series please go back to my blog and catch up.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
This week I will cover the last of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. When I hear the word delight, my mind is far from evil. My mind goes to this verse: Psalm 37:4 NKJV Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. To delight is to take great pleasure in. As Christ followers, we are not to delight in evil; we should take no pleasure in it. There is much confliction within me; kind of a good-vs-evil scenario going on about this part of the verse. I say this because the Lord put a warning in the form of a question in my mind a couple of years ago. I was watching a crime show, and these words boldly came into my mind, “Why are you entertained by evil?” Wow, that got my attention. I wonder how many believers like murder mysteries and crime shows? Real or not, aren’t we delighting, or being entertained by evil actions? I’m being real here, I cannot honestly say I’ve completely chilled my fascination with mystery, I have struggled with this question so I watch a lot less and some I don’t watch at all especially the ones where they reenact the crime. Writing this has me reevaluating my choices. I know it is possible for things in movies, television and video games to desensitize people to evil and their perception of violence, immorality, rudeness and hatred. It can also make people less sensitive to the plight of those taken over by evil. Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. What if God had turned away from Saul? There are 13 books in the New Testament attributed to the apostle Paul (formerly known as Saul).
I found this thought-provoking quote below then I wondered; is it possible that we inhibit our ability to truly love as in 1 Corinthians 13 because of what we allow into our eye and ear gates?
“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.” Baltasar Gracian 1601-1658 A Spanish Jesuit, writer and philosopher
So, we are to rejoice in the truth. So, what is the truth? I would say the obvious is a fact that’s not a lie, but truth begins with God as our creator, His creation and His word, the Bible. We can also find truth in, good things taking place, God working in people’s lives, the movement of the Holy Spirit and true love. Philippians reminds us again of things we should focus on. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. When we can find the truth, know the truth in our hearts, and recognize the truth in our everyday existence, then we are able to rejoice and be grateful because there is true freedom in the truth. John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
It always protects. Psalm 41:2 The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
When we love someone, we should also protect their reputations, their physical, mental and spiritual well-being as best we can. Not giving the ones who don’t love them things to use against them. Maybe that also means, not looking the other way when we see our friends or family members heading for destruction. There is a difference between smothering and protecting. I feel smothering could be a bit self-seeking where a person may be trying to take control of another, but protecting is seeing a disaster coming and giving a warning or stepping out to take the blow ourselves. Isn’t this what we are called to do for our children? Love for another requires commitment and participation. Love is a noun but it should be a verb. Real pure love moves a person to take action, it doesn’t just stay in the heart.
“To love someone is to become their shield, ready to defend them from anything that might harm them.” Author unknow
Always trusts. Trust is key for every good relationship. When trust is gone, as humans our feelings for a person often fade. I know people are fallible and they make many mistakes, isn’t it possible though, to still love and pray for them, but not get caught up in their shenanigans? If we love someone, we should always trust. If a person proves untrustworthy, then we should trust God to work in those people’s lives as we pray.
We need to be able to show God that we trust in Him by praying and trusting Him to take control of our situations, no matter the outcome.
We need to trust ourselves. Some people who do not like or love themselves hate making decisions, they simply don’t trust themselves. Maybe the real situation is they don’t have a relationship with the Lord and believe He can work through them to accomplish things. The truth is, on our own we may not be able to accomplish things or stay away from evil. With God we can do all things, see Philippians 4:13. Memorizing this scripture and others can be the starting point for loving and trusting ourselves.
Always hopes. Hope is a feeling of expectation, a trust and a belief that things will work out for the good. A relationship where we can live with hope in our heart for another is God’s best. It’s freeing, safe and joyful. We live in a hope they will be faithful, true, loving, kind and patient, all that 1 Corinthians 13 talks about. The most beautiful, marriages, family and friend relationships, have these qualities and they are a bit of heaven on earth. We know too, that evil and negative things often worm their way into relationships and we must fight for what we believe in and want. Don’t let Satan get a foothold in any of our relationships, we need to squash negative thoughts and behaviors right away.
One more aspect of loving our self, is to have hope in our future by putting our trust and hope in the Lord. We then can begin to believe not just in ourselves, but in the Lord that is in us. We become strong when we are a cord of three strands, the Lord, the Holy Spirit and our self. We can have hope and a future because we can live not merely with self-confidence, but with God-confidence.
Psalm 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Always perseveres. I love the word persevere because I love that trait in people. To persevere is to keep going on a path or to finish something, by pushing through all kinds of difficulty. It’s a determination to see something through. As we are talking about love, to me it means working hard to make your marriage or any other relationship work (Note: not when abuse and violence are present in that relationship). It means forgiving yourself and others and pushing forward for reconciliation, a good relationship and better self-care. It means learning from our mistakes and moving forward, not giving up. To persevere is to push forward, no matter the roadblock or the pain. Isn’t that what Christ did for us? I ask you how much more could He have done to show His love for us? He persevered through all the hate, the ridicule, awful abuse and a horrible death for a bunch of often ungrateful people. It’s how parents often need to persevere to be good-loving parents even when their children reject them with their humanly independent nature and self-centered ways. True, pure, love always perseveres, keeps loving and working at relationships until a life ends.
James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. “Robert A. Heinlein 1907-1988, Author, Aeronautical Engineer, Naval Officer
In summary, freewill makes it possible to love. Love is a choice and it must be managed. As I stated, love is really a verb not a noun. For love to mean anything, we must act on it. It cannot stay in the heart. Love needs to flow from our heart into our smile, out of our mouth, down our arms and into our hands to respond in affection and service to others.
Sally’s positive attributes of love from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind. In love we have joy for others and how they are blessed. We encourage others and seek God first, others second and ourselves last, but still being able to love ourselves as the Lord loves us. In love we show compassion and respect. We are loving, caring and kind. We keep control over our negative emotions. We strive to be a good listener and friend. We are peace makers and we choose to forgive others and forget their mistakes with the Lords help because He forgave us. We find no pleasure in evil but search for truth and rejoice in it. We protect those we love and we put our trust and hope in them. We persist through many kinds of tough situations (except evil situations like abuse, violence etc.) to keep the unity of peace and love in our relationships until we part in death.
1 Corinthians 13:1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
The attributes of love from 1 Corinthians 13 are shown in the life and death of Jesus. What God accomplished on Easter, did not only save us from eternal destruction, but opened a glorious door to a new way of living. We can now live with Christ love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We are now able to truly love not because a law gave us a list of rights and wrongs to follow, but because God came to earth in human form.
People can have all the material possessions they can work for, but without any love in their lives, many people die by their own hand or by a broken heart, empty of being able to give love or receive it. There is no material possession that can take the place of all the attributes of pure love. Love gives us a feeling of completeness, contentment and joy. Love is a foundation we are able to live from, work from or start a family. Love enables us to enjoy fun with friends and family. Love is the greatest gift of God to mankind through Jesus. Pure love for ourselves with humility, makes us able to love others more, accomplish more and see the world through God’s eyes with gratitude. God is love. Jesus, Emmanuel, meaning, God with us.
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
1 Corinthians 13:17 Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Prayer
Lord, we marvel in your great love for us. We thank you for your sacrifice that brought us a hope and a future with you. Thank you for the gift of love. Love brings us joy and a sense of belonging to each other. Love means we do not face this world alone. Thank you that you got Saul’s attention and was able to turn him into the apostle Paul. He was once full of hate, then because of you Lord, Paul became the person who came to know pure love and write Corinthians and many other books of the Bible. How amazing! Lord, please keep pursuing the whole human race in this manner, changing hearts and lives. We need you, Emmanuel. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I pray many of you have read and received something from this series on love. I pray you have a wonderful love filled Easter and that you take to heart its very special meaning.
God Bless you,
Sally
This series has really opened my eyes, Sally. Thank you for your God given gifts of writing! We are so much the better for it.