05 March 2007

Love

[Monday 3/5] 1 Corinthians 13

"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, and 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. Love never fails."

Here is a passage we have all heard many times- at weddings especially. Many Hallmark cards pick this up- as a nice fluffy discourse on love. It is easy for us to consider the love of God, that he cares for us and wants us to know Him and be happy.

The response part is where most of us start to feel the pinch. We greatly prefer to consider HIS love for us than our love for Him. We are called to love Jesus and therefore to love others in the SAME WAY that He loved us.

This is how we are to respond:
"Strive for this, pray for this, desire this -- to be stripped of all selfishness and naked to follow the naked Jesus, to die to self and live forever for Me." --Thomas a Kempis, the Imitation

For us to truly know LOVE, we must meditate on CHRIST CRUCIFIED. For us to truly LOVE- we must beg Him for the courage to JOIN IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST by dying to ourselves.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i love that bible passage. because it really sums up what love really is. love isn't easy. it's something that has to be worked on ever day. love is one of the most used words, but used wrong. love isn't fluffy cheesy hallmark cards, and while it is cute, it's not love.
love is going through the worst torture imaginable - and worse. it's going through the most incredible pain, and all the time not worrying about yourself, but worrying about the women weeping for you, worrying about people 2000 years down the road. that's true love.
just my thoughts

Mountain Climber said...

Because the word love is used so much and has been misused, one can use Charity, which means love, but there is no confusion between what type of love you are talking about, because Charity is divine love.

Anonymous said...

how does God do it?! Even i don't love my creations as much as this, and mine don't number in the trillions. btw, is this the passage that decided that maryters go directly to heaven? or is that from the sermon on the mt.

Anonymous said...

...so its march 8th now... the spiritual mountian is not feeling the love...

Anonymous said...

this reminds me of the Saints. Especially St. Therese and her Little Way. Everything that is done can be great if it is done with love, no mater how small.

Unknown said...

meditate on Christ crucified. i actually do that. and i think it is true. True love isn't just that "butterflies" feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, it's a whole lot more than that.
once someone told me that if you look at that bible verse, and exchange God for the word Love, and then read it, you get a whole new look on it....like this

God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not proud. God is not rude, God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered, and God keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.

so just remember, God never fails. he loves you!!!