Hello all! By the title, you can probably see that this post is going to center around the theme of "love." In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I wanted to take a step back and look at what the Bible has to say about love. With all the commercial celebrations of Valentine's Day, the real meaning of love has become swept under the rug.
First of all, I want to talk about God's love for us. 1 John 3:16 says "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." Think about this for a moment. We are sinful, self-seeking, indulgent creatures. God is holy, He has never done anything wrong, never committed any sin, and because of that nothing unholy, anything not perfect, can come into His presence. So, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to come and live a perfect life, to give His life up and die on the cross for the world's sins. God gave up His own Son, so that He might demonstrate how much He loves us. This is true love. 1 John continues the theme of love by saying in 1 John 4:19 "we love because he first loved us," and in 1 John 4:8 "whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." These passages cause us to step back even further and really understand what is being written. They're saying that the only way that we love God and love one another is because God first loved us. Furthermore, it says that those who don't love don't know God. This makes practical sense. A Christian is loving because they know what it is to be loved by God and His sacrifice of Jesus. Also, a Christian is loving because they know what the Bible says, and commands, about love. Let's take a look at that now.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth. Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures. Love never ends."
Alright, time for chessy story time. So I was thinking about a recent, negative situation that I was involved in, and all of a sudden, I started thinking about the good times, rather then the bad times regarding this situation, and I said "all of a sudden the good times are outweighing the bad times?" And I heard God answer "True love (Real, Christian love), will always put the good before the bad." It made me think of the passage above. Let's break it down piece by piece, but as we do, please keep an open mind that this kind of love apllies to every and all relationships, whether it be friendships, parents, siblings, children, boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, marriage and any other relationships you may have.
Love is patient and kind: When you say you love someone, you are saying that you will be patient with them, and you will be kind to them. No matter what life throws at them, you will be there for them, being patient and being kind to them, no matter what happens.
Love is not jealous, it does not brag, it is not proud: Love does not control and it's not self-centered. Being jealous, bragging and proud are all results from wanting to be very selfish, and making the relationship all about you. When you love someone, no matter who it is, you put them before yourself.
Love is not rude, not selfish, and does not get upset with others: Being rude to someone is disrespectful, and there is no place for disrespect in love. Love is the opposite. Love cares about the other person more then it does themselves. Love doesn't get upset or walk out when something doesn't go their way, or someone does something wrong, but it patiently waits for things to get worked out.
Love does not count up wrongs that have been done: This can be very hard, but forgiveness it vital in any relationship. Think of the forgiveness that has been given to you by Jesus Christ. Love talks and works things out, forgives and moves on past things the things that have been done wrong.
Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth: Love never roots for the enemy to win, and it never cheers when evil happens. Love wants the truth to prevail in all situations, for all people, because truth comes from the Lord, and evil comes from the enemy.
Love patiently accepts all things, trusts, always hopes, always endures, love never ends: This sums up almost everything above. Love accepts all things that happen, it trusts always, it always hopes, knowing that there is already victory in Jesus to overcome anything that needs to be dealt with. Love always endures, no matter what happens, no matter how many things seem to be going wrong, love comes up alongside the situation and holds their hand through it. This kind of love will always endure.
As always, thank you for reading! Make sure to connect with me via the comments section, or on twitter @stephaniejtay or Facebook and on the "Contact Me" page. Also, giving in to the commercial side of Valentine's Day, for all you who are single around this time of year, I've posted a couple things to laugh at below. Also, if you're single, please take a second and check out my blog entitled "While I'm Waiting," here if you haven't read it yet.
Thanks, and all glory to God! Until next time,
Stephanie :)
First of all, I want to talk about God's love for us. 1 John 3:16 says "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." Think about this for a moment. We are sinful, self-seeking, indulgent creatures. God is holy, He has never done anything wrong, never committed any sin, and because of that nothing unholy, anything not perfect, can come into His presence. So, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to come and live a perfect life, to give His life up and die on the cross for the world's sins. God gave up His own Son, so that He might demonstrate how much He loves us. This is true love. 1 John continues the theme of love by saying in 1 John 4:19 "we love because he first loved us," and in 1 John 4:8 "whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." These passages cause us to step back even further and really understand what is being written. They're saying that the only way that we love God and love one another is because God first loved us. Furthermore, it says that those who don't love don't know God. This makes practical sense. A Christian is loving because they know what it is to be loved by God and His sacrifice of Jesus. Also, a Christian is loving because they know what the Bible says, and commands, about love. Let's take a look at that now.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth. Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures. Love never ends."
Alright, time for chessy story time. So I was thinking about a recent, negative situation that I was involved in, and all of a sudden, I started thinking about the good times, rather then the bad times regarding this situation, and I said "all of a sudden the good times are outweighing the bad times?" And I heard God answer "True love (Real, Christian love), will always put the good before the bad." It made me think of the passage above. Let's break it down piece by piece, but as we do, please keep an open mind that this kind of love apllies to every and all relationships, whether it be friendships, parents, siblings, children, boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, marriage and any other relationships you may have.
Love is patient and kind: When you say you love someone, you are saying that you will be patient with them, and you will be kind to them. No matter what life throws at them, you will be there for them, being patient and being kind to them, no matter what happens.
Love is not jealous, it does not brag, it is not proud: Love does not control and it's not self-centered. Being jealous, bragging and proud are all results from wanting to be very selfish, and making the relationship all about you. When you love someone, no matter who it is, you put them before yourself.
Love is not rude, not selfish, and does not get upset with others: Being rude to someone is disrespectful, and there is no place for disrespect in love. Love is the opposite. Love cares about the other person more then it does themselves. Love doesn't get upset or walk out when something doesn't go their way, or someone does something wrong, but it patiently waits for things to get worked out.
Love does not count up wrongs that have been done: This can be very hard, but forgiveness it vital in any relationship. Think of the forgiveness that has been given to you by Jesus Christ. Love talks and works things out, forgives and moves on past things the things that have been done wrong.
Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth: Love never roots for the enemy to win, and it never cheers when evil happens. Love wants the truth to prevail in all situations, for all people, because truth comes from the Lord, and evil comes from the enemy.
Love patiently accepts all things, trusts, always hopes, always endures, love never ends: This sums up almost everything above. Love accepts all things that happen, it trusts always, it always hopes, knowing that there is already victory in Jesus to overcome anything that needs to be dealt with. Love always endures, no matter what happens, no matter how many things seem to be going wrong, love comes up alongside the situation and holds their hand through it. This kind of love will always endure.
As always, thank you for reading! Make sure to connect with me via the comments section, or on twitter @stephaniejtay or Facebook and on the "Contact Me" page. Also, giving in to the commercial side of Valentine's Day, for all you who are single around this time of year, I've posted a couple things to laugh at below. Also, if you're single, please take a second and check out my blog entitled "While I'm Waiting," here if you haven't read it yet.
Thanks, and all glory to God! Until next time,
Stephanie :)