Good morning. Thousands upon thousands of poems have been recited, songs have been sung, essays have been written, but the truth of it seems to be so very hard to pin down. I am speaking of love. Love is essential to our physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. When love is lost or diminished, we feel sorrow and pain.
Why is love so important to us and yet nearly impossible to define? Because love is of God, and because God is love (1 John 4:7-8). How can mere man define that which is the nature of the almighty? We can’t, at least not without divine help.
Fortunately, God decided to give us that help. He chose His servant Paul to write down His definition of love, as well as stating its nature and importance:
If I could speak in every language, the tongues of all people or even in the language of angels, but I am without love, it would only be an annoying sound like a clanging cymbal or loud gong. If I had the gift of prophecy and could understand every mystery due to my complete knowledge, or if I had the kind of faith that could move a mountain, but didn’t have love, I would be nothing special. If I gave away all that I have and delivered my body to be burned, but did so without love, I would gain nothing.
Love is patient, and love is kind; love is never envious or boastful; love is never arrogant or acts to dishonor another. Love never insists on its own way; love is not irritable or resentful; love finds no joy in what is wrong but rejoices greatly at what is right and true. Love bears every burden and is always willing to believe. Love is always hopeful and will endure to the very end.
Love will never fail you. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a
That is love. Consider the ways in which you are revealing or concealing the love of God today. Do all of those descriptions of love fit well within your relationships?
Be a beacon of love today, your life will be blessed by the effort.
Vern