My Savior's love language

This morning I spent my quiet time in 1 Corinthians 13 reading about love. This passage has always fascinated me because it sounds so simple, yet it is so incredibly hard to live into. And what intrigues me even more is the fact that Paul was writing this description of love as a mandate among the entire human race...as a description of the love that we as Christ followers should have for all of those with whom we come in contact.

Oh sure, people have used this passage of scripture in wedding ceremonies the world over ever since Paul's letter was first received by the believers in Corinth, but what hits me most is to understand that Paul's context was not to speak about love in the romantic sense (what the Greeks would have called eros). Paul, instead, was writing to a feuding fellowship that was struggling to live in faith-based community who desperately needed to learn how to better love one another unconditionally (what the Greeks would have called agape). With that context in mind, give these verses some consideration:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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."

Wow...that's how Jesus wants us to love everyone...that's really intimidating to me because it's hard enough for me personally to consistently love even my wife and children that well. But something else jumped out at me today. As I stared at the above scripture, the words began to sort of reverse themselves in my mind bringing a new insight to the passage. Check it out:

What once was "love is patient...love is kind" became to me
"patience is love...kindness is love". In addition to that, the later verse became "boastfulness is not love...keeping a record of wrongs is not love". I found that very helpful because, in a life which Jesus wants His disciples to be identified by the way they love one another, I need to know how to speak my Savior's love language.

This may be remedial stuff to you, but this is tough for me.

Consider this, what if the next time someone showed you patience, you understood it the same way that you would if that person were saying to you, "I love you." Or better still, what if the next time you had good reason to get angry with someone, you chose not to get angry with them simply as a means of non-verbally communicating to them, "Jesus and I love you."

Are you so loveable to Christ that He would show you His love through anyone and everyone? I think that you are. Are you so convinced of Christ's love for all of humanity that you would love them back on His behalf? I think that you could. I think that I could, too, if I really put effort to it. It's my prayer that you and I would "tell" someone that we love them today...and everyday for that matter.

Grace and Peace to you.