LOVE = STRENGTH
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8 NKJ
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Surely you didn't think you would make it through this chapter without me talking about love.
But what if we looked at love from a different angle? What if we viewed love not as an emotion or a feeling but as a display of strength? And if we consider that God is love and He has never ever been weak, then equating love with strength is not a stretch. Plus, if we look at love as a strength instead of a Christian weak area it may be a better motivator to begin to practice love in our lives.
So, we could read that real strength suffers long and is kind. Real strength does not seek its own, is not rude or arrogant, bears all things . . .
Looking at love this way also frees us from relegating love to a feeling or feminine trait. I have seen this, especially with men, myself included. Love has not had the appeal of faith or hope, yet the scriptures declare it the greatest of the three.
Love is a decision we make and an action we take.
I do not have to feel anything positive or warm to walk in love. This passage in 1 Corinthians, is an outstanding list of love's attributes and feelings don't make the list.
So absent of feelings, it takes strength to be kind, not be easily provoked, not think evil, or keep account of what has been done to you. And this strength, real spiritual strength, never fails.
APPLICATION
This passage is a great one to memorize. Joy wrote it down and taped it all around our apartments and our first home. Living with me evidently required an immense amount of strength, and this is an area we can all grow stronger in.
But the benefits of walking in greater love are very real for this life and the life to come. Practice walking in this strength and see what good things begin to happen.
PRAYER
Dear Father, You are love, and I am Your child. Thank You for the ability to walk in love, to walk in real strength. By Your grace, I can do this.