Love Never Fails

[Christsfreeservant]

Human love, based in our flesh, will fail us. But God-like love, which prefers what God prefers, will not fail, for it is centered in God and not in self. If we try to operate in our flesh, we are bound to fail, too. If we try to use our gifts in the flesh, they will also fail.

When we were children we did what was childish, and we thought a lot about ourselves. But, as we mature in Christ, we should put those childish ways of behaving behind us. We shouldn’t always be thinking about us and what we want, but we should be considering what will benefit others and how we can help them, and we should be looking out for their good, not for what is going to benefit us in our flesh. If we are using our gifts to puff up ourselves or so others will think how great we are, then we are missing the mark.

Not one of us has the corner on truth. We all see only what God allows us to see, and we don’t have the complete picture yet. He has given us many of the pieces to the puzzle, but it won’t all be complete until Jesus, who is perfect, returns for us, and then we will see what we could not see in these earthly bodies. So, we must be reminded that all that we have comes from God, and we would not have it if he did not give it to us, so we should never have reason to take pride in the gifts God gives to us. So, the gifts should never be our focus, but rather the Giver of the gifts should be our focus.

Love Never Fails

An Original Work / August 20, 2012
Based off 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

If I speak
With tongues of men and angels,
But do not have love,
My speech is but noise;
It sounds like thunder from above.
If I have the gift of preaching,
Knowledge, faith and prophecy,
But I do not love my brothers,
Oh, what vanity!
If I give all I possess
To help a neighbor who’s in need,
But I do not love my sisters,
I gain not a thing.

Love is patient; love is kind;
It does not envy; is not proud.
It is not rude; not self-seeking;
Selflessly gives out.
Love does not delight in evil,
But rejoices with the truth;
Protects always; hopes and trusts,
And always perseveres.
Love is not easily angered;
Keeps no record of the wrongs.
It forgives when wrong’s intended;
Returns hate with love.

Love will never fail when it is
God’s love reaching out through us,
Selfless in its care for others;
Yielding to the cross.
Prophecies and tongues
And knowledge,
Wisdom, teaching, miracles,
Gifts of healing, helping others –
These will all be stilled.
When perfection comes
The imperfect will surely disappear.
Faith and hope and love remain;
The greatest of these, love.

 

[AlexB23]

Human love, based in our flesh, will fail us. But God-like love, which prefers what God prefers, will not fail, for it is centered in God and not in self. If we try to operate in our flesh, we are bound to fail, too. If we try to use our gifts in the flesh, they will also fail.

When we were children we did what was childish, and we thought a lot about ourselves. But, as we mature in Christ, we should put those childish ways of behaving behind us. We shouldn’t always be thinking about us and what we want, but we should be considering what will benefit others and how we can help them, and we should be looking out for their good, not for what is going to benefit us in our flesh. If we are using our gifts to puff up ourselves or so others will think how great we are, then we are missing the mark.

Not one of us has the corner on truth. We all see only what God allows us to see, and we don’t have the complete picture yet. He has given us many of the pieces to the puzzle, but it won’t all be complete until Jesus, who is perfect, returns for us, and then we will see what we could not see in these earthly bodies. So, we must be reminded that all that we have comes from God, and we would not have it if he did not give it to us, so we should never have reason to take pride in the gifts God gives to us. So, the gifts should never be our focus, but rather the Giver of the gifts should be our focus.

Love Never Fails

An Original Work / August 20, 2012
Based off 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

If I speak
With tongues of men and angels,
But do not have love,
My speech is but noise;
It sounds like thunder from above.
If I have the gift of preaching,
Knowledge, faith and prophecy,
But I do not love my brothers,
Oh, what vanity!
If I give all I possess
To help a neighbor who’s in need,
But I do not love my sisters,
I gain not a thing.

Love is patient; love is kind;
It does not envy; is not proud.
It is not rude; not self-seeking;
Selflessly gives out.
Love does not delight in evil,
But rejoices with the truth;
Protects always; hopes and trusts,
And always perseveres.
Love is not easily angered;
Keeps no record of the wrongs.
It forgives when wrong’s intended;
Returns hate with love.

Love will never fail when it is
God’s love reaching out through us,
Selfless in its care for others;
Yielding to the cross.
Prophecies and tongues
And knowledge,
Wisdom, teaching, miracles,
Gifts of healing, helping others –
These will all be stilled.
When perfection comes
The imperfect will surely disappear.
Faith and hope and love remain;
The greatest of these, love.

I like this poem a lot. Reminds me of the song by Passion - One Thing Remains (released 2012). Yes, it is from Bethel Church, and there are a bit of controversies and lawsuits about Bethel about healing and other factors (wiki link), but the song was well done.