Thursday, February 14, 2013

Love is...

I was on Facebook this morning and a friend had posted a picture of a card or photo that had I Corinthians 13 (particularly verses 4 - 8a)  printed on it.  The passage of Scripture often read at weddings, and a fitting passage for Valentine's Day.  Here it is:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails...

Typically, when reading this passage I am reading it as a list of to do's:

Love is kind?  (Yes, I can do kind... check)...
Love is patient... (can I skip this one?)...
Does not envy (well, most of the time... check)...
Is not rude (this one's making me a bit nervous, moving on)...
is not self-seeking (gulp),
is not easily angered (now she throws her hands up - ready to give up and stop reading)...
keeps no record of wrongs... (don't you even ask my husband about this)... 
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth... (I can feel better about this one.. check)... 
always protects (I try, but...)...
always trusts (nope, not so much)... 
always hopes... (deep down inside where it counts?,)...
always perseveres...(well, I'm still here, that's a good sign?)... 
Love never fails... (forget it, because I'm pretty sure that fail is my middle name)... Sigh.

Today, however, as I was reading it, something different captured my heart...  and it all stems from this one simple thought... God is love. (1 John 4:8).

God is patient (2 Peter 3:9),
He is kind (Jer.31:3).
He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud  (Isaiah 43:10).
He is not rude (Rev.3:10) ,
He is not self-seeking (John 3:16),
He is not easily angered (Psalm 86:15),
He keeps no record of wrongs (Psalm 103:11-12).
God does not delight in evil (Ps. 101:4)
but rejoices with the truth (Ps. 51:6).
He always protects (Prov. 2:8),
always trusts (Matt 27:43),
always hopes (1 Peter 1:3),
always perseveres (Heb 12:2).
God never fails (1 Cor. 15:54)..."

God is love.  He loved us so much that He gave.  He gave His Son, who then walked this sod, and fleshed out love!  We love, because He first loved us.  And so, Love is....