Taken from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (The Living Bible, Tyndale 1972) Scripture is typed in bold.
❤ Love is patient and kind.
It
feels good to be patient and kind. It also feels quite endearing when someone
is patient and kind to you when you need it. Of course, some people won’t make
that easy for you, but consider them as an opportunity
to ‘get a workout of your love skill muscles.’ You can do it. I believe in
you.
❤ Love is never jealous or
envious.
Neither
of these emotions produces good results. If you should happen to feel them,
release them. Ask GOD to help you.
GOD
is the source of all good and perfect gifts, so there’s no need to be jealous
of someone else and their blessings. Ask Him for what you need. Never give too
much energy to those jealous and envious of you. Instead, take them as a sign that
you are on the right path. Thank GOD for them and ask Him to bless them. Then,
keep it moving.
❤ Love is never boastful or proud
Neither
of these will ever produce positive results when the focus is on self. You can
be pleased about things that you accomplish but the danger lies in believing
that you succeed independently and not by the blessing of The LORD. Feel free
to ‘boast’ about God’s Provision. He likes that. When you take the credit for
yourself, there’s no room for God to get the Glory He deserves.
❤ Love is never haughty, or
selfish or rude.
When
you ask yourself, “Is this love?”, check to see if these qualities are present.
Haughty means ‘thinking so highly of yourself that you look down your nose at
others believing them to be beneath you.’ In other words, it means feeling arrogantly
superior or acting snobbish or rude. Love is neither. Since love is not selfish
nor rude, when you see such… Run! No, seriously. Don’t run. Pray and remain
prayerful. That person just may actually be a heavenly assignment.
❤ Love does not demand its own
way.
Being
willing to be agreeable and flexible is a choice. The one that chooses to do so
is definitely operating in love. I associate love with meekness which is said
to be power under control. Go with the flow.
❤ Love is not irritable or
touchy.
Since
love IS patient and kind, it stands to reason that being irritable and touchy
is not love. Sure, we all have challenging days from time to time, but you cannot
walk in love being touchy and irritable ‘all-of- the-time’! Breathe then chill.
❤ Love does not hold grudges.
Know
who does? (The enemy of our souls) That rascal hates forgiveness so much
because it is a quality of God and a habit that God wants us to cultivate
within. You can’t hold a grudge and forgive at the same time. Redirect the
grudge energy to something positive that will help someone.
❤ Love will hardly notice when
others do it wrong.
Some
translations write “keep a record of wrongs” instead of stating it the way this
Living Bible does. I can say that I have matured in the ‘not holding grudges’
and ‘not keeping account of wrongs’ areas of my life.
Let’s be real though, looking at this translation, I still have some work to do. I may not say anything but I do notice when others do me wrong. If we’re honest, we are all “works in progress” prayerfully improving every day. My advice to myself and to you, my Reader, is "Let It Go." We can do it.
Let’s be real though, looking at this translation, I still have some work to do. I may not say anything but I do notice when others do me wrong. If we’re honest, we are all “works in progress” prayerfully improving every day. My advice to myself and to you, my Reader, is "Let It Go." We can do it.
❤ Love is never glad about
injustice.
There
are so many injustices going on in the world that I’d be writing about them
until Jesus returns. Who can be happy that so many people are subjected to the
abuse of living in poverty, denied basic rights and economic opportunities? How
can we be passive and not enraged about impoverished communities like Flint, MI
and St. Joseph, LA using toxic water because they have no choice? #BlackLivesMatter
Get
involved. Be a part of the solution.
❤Love rejoices whenever the truth
wins out.
Yes,
it does. Do you know the sense of relief and pure joy when something you’ve
known for a while to be true becomes evident to others who may have previously
missed it?
The
truth is GOD loved YOU so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for your (our)
mistakes. Jesus loves you so much that would love to be welcomed into your
heart and life. Just ask HIM.
Spoiler
Alert: It’s a fixed fight. HE loves You. HE Is The
Truth and HE’S coming back. We must be ready. Want to know more? Email your
questions to: dreamkeepers44@gmail.com
Years
ago, I wrote a six part series on Love. Here is the link to Part 1 of Where is
the Love? if you’d like to read more.
