A Bible Study of the Love God calls us to have for one another

Some of the things listed in I Cor. 13 are pretty self explanatory...like Love does not seek it's own. But self explanatory doesn't mean without challenge, which is what we find here. Love does Not seek it's own, or in some translations, self seeking.

zeteo implies a diligent seeking after of something. So when God inspired Paul to use this word, it is with good reason. Love does not diligently seek its own interests but instead fervently puts the interests of others first. Again this is contrary to the way of this world in which the individual always is me first. Was the church at Corinth a me first group? We do not know for sure but with a lack of unity that might be a reasonable conclusion. Love turns our world upside down and puts the interests of others before our own. Real love looks out for the interests of others before it's own.


What I learned very early on in my studies of Love, is that there are so many wonderful treasures hidden behind the things that seem so simple that one dare never leave the study in the "simple" version. Love does not seek itself, but that leaves a question, what does Love seek? and how does it seek? The definition gives us some clue, but a deeper study into scripture reveals even more.


First, how we are to seek. Our son died in a swimming accident. When the word first went out that something was wrong, everyone present at the graduation party went looking. Some searching the grounds, others searching the water. I stood on shore, after looking where he should have been and watched divers, bobbing up and down in the water, coming up only for a quick breath before going back down, out of sight, but diligent in their search. They sought for our son, as if his very life depended on their finding him, and it did. That is the way we are to search when we talk about God and Love. We are to search as if someone's very life depends on it, and honestly, it does. How many suicides could have been prevented if someone had sought the one who died with a Love that sought as if life depended on it. How many drug addicts, alcoholics, wayward believers who no longer would step foot into a church, could have been spared great sin, great heartache, if someone had sought them in Love with a zeal that knew their very life depended on that Love finding them, comforting them, encouraging them, lifting them up. Like our son, not everyone will be saved, but, a diligent search, will find some in time, will rescue some.


Even God seeks that which is lost, Love seeks, with a diligence and zeal...

Matthew 18:12-14
Psalms 119:176
John 4:23-24
Ezekiel 22:30
II Chronicles 28:9-10



So what then should we seek?

Deuteronomy 4:25-31...seek God with all your being

I Chronicles 16:7-14...seek the Lords face and remember

II Chronicles 7:13-16...God's face
Psalms 34:9-16...seek God and peace

Psalms 40:16...seek God and be glad

Psalms 63:1-8...seek God

Proverbs 2:1-9 (1-5)...commands, wisdom, understanding, insight,=the knowledge of God

Proverbs 15:14...knowledge
Proverbs 18:15...knowledge
Proverbs 28:5...understanding
Isaiah 1:17...justice
Hosea 10:12...seek God

Zephaniah 2:1-3...seek God, righteousness, and humility

Matthew 7:7-12...love seeks not it's own as it applies to prayer
John 7:16-19...seek the glory of the one who sent you aka God

Acts 17:24-28...seek God the servant

Romans 2:5-11...seek glory, honor and immortality, avoid seeking self, truth, and following evil

I Corinthians 10:23-24...the good of others

I Corinthians 10:31-33...the good of others


What should we abandon seeking?
Leviticus 19:31...mediums and spirits

Numbers 15:37-41...lusts of the heart and eyes

Proverbs 11:27...evil
Isaiah 29:15...darkness, hiding from God

Matthew 12:38-45...signs
Luke 12:27-31...worry
John 5:41-44...the glory from man rather than from God

I Corinthians 1:18-31...man's wisdom, mans strength, mans understanding

I Corinthians 10:23-24...own good

I Thessalonians 2:1-9...praise from man

I Peter 5:1-11 (8-9)...temptations of the devil


Well, that is a lot of scripture to go through...may you enjoy your journey into God, may you find the courage to face the things you once had hidden.

favoritetoyisjoy said:

Deuteronomy 4:29: "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."

Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

If you put the theme of these 2 verses together it conveys that if we diligently seek God, with all of of hearts and souls, we are rewarded with finding Him. Finding Him is the closest thing to Heaven on earth. The "reward" is so great, that we'll find that having God in first place in our lives, on the throne of our lives, is a step up, not a step down.

Finding Him makes a verse like Romans 8:16 come alive: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" We have a fanatastically greater consciousness of God, we'll have the Peace that passeth all understanding. When I have that, it is enough to the extreme, my cup runneth over.

There's an inexpensive paperback ($9.95) that sums this all up beautifully. The title is "Practicing His Presence" by Frank Laubach & Brother Lawrence. Laubach's is the first section and is only 37 pages long, it can be read in one session. Brother Lawrence's section is a collection of his letters which show the same theme, and is much longer. There's more than one version, I recommend the one that includes Laubach's section. Both of these men had incredible relationships and experiences with God, and everyone could have them. Outside of the Bible, this book has been the most important one I've ever read.

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amen, I especially like when you say that everyone could have this relationship with God....so many times, we see others relationship and think it is outside our ability to have. Maybe we have tried and tried and tried for years and we just don't seem any closer to God than when we started, He still "feels" a million miles away.

Sometimes, we see these believers that really exemplify the relationship of man and God and the struggles they go through, the persecutions that often follow and we say, "no thanks, not for me, I like my safe little haven".

The reality of the situation is that that relationship and even deeper is available to each of us, but in order to have that relationship, we have to...you guessed it...humble ourselves, come to God with thoughts of Him over ourselves (Love). We have to stop seeking for the worldly pleasures that fill us only for the moment, and in their place, seek God with all our hearts, soul, mind, exceedingly.

I came to Christ when I was 6. My life was so out of control, that I would have killed myself if I had figured out how to do so. And so, at 6, with nothing else to hold to, I reasoned that: the world couldn't just happen, there had to be a creator; if there was a creator, He/She/It had to be bigger than anything He/She/It created; if He/She/It was bigger than anything created, then He/She/It was greater than the situation I found myself in, and; if He/She/It was greater than my situation, than that is what I needed to survive. That night, I prayed to a God I didn't know, that if He was real, that He would become so much a part of me that it would be impossible to tell where He began and I ended. That was the beginning of my Love affair with God. With complete abandonment, seeking with everything in me, with a zeal that realized my very life depended on it, I sought God.

When we talk about Love is not self seeking, we sometimes forget that God is real. Oh, we may retain a head knowledge that He is real, but we never really cross the line of belief, belief like that of a young child, that everything He says is real, true, meaningful and alive. As adults we often abandon our living by faith, for the logical conclusions that if I don't see, hear, feel, touch, it must just make God like Santa, "only there for those who believe." But the truth, that we need to learn to believe, need to learn to hold on to as tightly as we hold onto our own pride, is that God is there, He is all that He claims to be and more. He judges sin, He is holy, majestic, pure. We need to seek Him as if our very lives depend on it, because in reality, our very lives do depend on our finding Him, and in the finding, living in faith (trust), believing.

Thanks, my favorite way to do bible study is with participation, your posts mean more than you will know.

May we all learn to seek God with all our hearts, souls, minds, exceeding. May we find Him while He can be found, may we trust Him with the simplicity of a little child.

Love is not easily angered....what a fun one to study!

A careful study of the Greek word paroxuno gives us insight into its' meaning. The common usage is to sharpen or stir. Think of being stirred up or having sharp cutting words for someone. It is also related to paroxusmos which is where we get the english word paroxysms from. Paroxysms are fits for instance of pain, laughter, or rage. We can think of it as being stirred up to fits of anger and sharp words. The modifier easily is not in the Greek but has been added to English translations starting with the KJV.



So very much to talk about here. First, let's deal with the added word easily and why I think it belongs.


Ephesians 4:26...“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,



It seems highly unlikely that God, in His wisdom and in light of His claims to give us what we need to accomplish the task He asks of us, would expect us to never get angry, then tell us how to conduct ourselves when we do get angry. For example, I don't demand my children clean their room, then lock the door so they can't enter to clean it. Nor do I demand my husband remain faithful to me, then hire a prostitute to tempt him. Likewise, it is inconsistent with God to call us to Love, a Love that is without anger, then tell us how to properly behave when we are angry.


For this reason, I suggest to you that the word easily though not necessarily the most appropriate word choice (more on that in a moment) does belong in our total understanding of Love is not 'easily' angered.


So, now, let's move on to a more appropriate word choices. In Ephesians we see that we are 'allowed' to be angry (consider Jesus when He turned over the tables of the money changers) but in that anger we are not to sin. Basically, what we are instructed in Ephesians is to exercise self control over our anger. Galatians 5, lists self control among the fruit of the Spirit. This kind of self control, like everything else listed in I Cor 13, is to the level in which it comes from the supernatural, the HS and flows through us, being perfected by our efforts to live in and through and with the help of the indwelling HS.


In practical application, think about when we are angry with someone who has hurt us, how often is our anger under self control. I know I personally, way too often, explode, erupting into a fit of rage, lashing out at anyone, but hoping I fire a bullet that will pierce the heart of the offender.


In fact, one of the lines of study that is called for here is a study on vengeance. The summary of which is that we are not to have vengeance, but rather to allow God to be our avenger. Which requires us to trust Him with our justified anger and desires to be first in the situation, to protect self, to look out for number one, yep, humility again. (can't study Love without getting tired of hearing about humility). Anger isn't the evil, it isn't the sin, the antithesis of Love, our lack of self control in that anger is. Even Jesus when He was angered in the temple, was controlled in His response, and did no harm to anyone.



Now that is a tall, tall order. When we are angry, we allow our emotions to take control of our tongues and behaviors, even our attitudes are controlled by those emotions, strong, sometimes justified emotions. But in Love, we allow the HS to control our tongues, our behaviors, our attitudes, we allow our sense of justice to be governed by the grace of God. It doesn't mean we suddenly stop being angry, but it does mean that in that anger, we find grace, mercy, compassion, Love (putting someone else above ourselves-humility). The fits of outbursts that are governed by emotions, give way to a peaceful calm that is calculated, purposeful, set on reconciliation/restoration, not on vengeance or retaliation.



But let us not forget that this works the other way as well, we are also not to insight others to fits of rage. We are not to purpose to stir someone else to anger. It doesn't mean we won't ever make someone else angry, but it does mean that we won't be purposeful in doing so, not if we are living in Love anyway.



There are so many great questions then to ask of this self control, and so we will only ask a couple.


In the full version study of I Cor. 13, is a list of truths and lies, so let's look at a couple of those today....


The self control of Love makes one strong and wise...

Proverbs 25:28
Proverbs 16:32
Proverbs 14:29


Is getting it out quickly, then moving on is better than holding it all in...

James 1:19-20...this passage also gives us some ways to exercise self control
Proverbs 17:27
Proverbs 29:20
Ecclesiastes 7:9


Is self control only about self, or is God necessary for self control to be complete....
Galatians 5:22-23

Titus 2:11-14
Titus 2:2-5


Will we be judged by/for our anger...

Matthew 5:22
Psalms 37:7-8


Does God need us to leave our anger at His feet, allowing Him to be our vengeance...

I Timothy 2:8
Leviticus 19:17
Luke 17:3
Matthew 5:23-24
Mark 11:25


Does God get angry....(there are a host of passages here, for the diligent, there are many in the OT that are amazing looks into who God is, but for now, we will limit our study to these)

Romans 5:9
Ephesians 2:3-5
I Thessalonians 1:9b-10


And finally,
Ephesians 4:20-32
gives us a wonderful list of ways to exercise our self control, the self control that the HS plants within us, and we cultivate into full bloom.

1. Transform your thinking...
2. Learn so that you will not be ignorant...
3. Soften your heart...
4. Be sensitive to God and others...
5. Avoid the sensuality that brings temporary pleasures, both in your physical life and in your spiritual life.
6. Put off greed...
7. Put off the old self and those desires...
8. Take on new attitudes in your minds...
9. Put on the new self, which is like Christ...
10. Put off all falsehoods...
11. Put on truthful speech...
12. Do not sin...
13. Do not let the sun go down on your anger...
14. Don't give the devil a chance to enter your life through your thoughts or actions...
15. Stop stealing, whether things, or time, or emotional health...
16. Do something useful with your hands...
17. Share with those in need...
18. Do not allow unhealthy talk to come from you...
19. Build others up according to their needs...
20. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit...(this takes us back to obedience)...
21. Get rid of...
    
    1. bitterness
    2. rage
    3. anger
    4. brawling
    5. slander
    6. every form of malice

1. Replace the above with...
   1. kindness
   2. compassion
   3. forgiveness

May the self control the HS plants within you, grow into a full and wonderful tree of fruitful Love as others test our patience and anger.

Valentines Day, what an interesting day to restart our study of I Cor. 13 Love.

Several years ago, I was thinking about how my husband and I came to become married. I was determined to never get married, he had never dated before. That valentines day, we were going to a party, he was driving for convenience. When I arrived at his house, he had made, from scratch, the slow, like 2 hour to make, kind of fudge and put it in a heart shaped pan. When he gave it to me, he asked me to go out with him. All that work, all that effort, just to ask for a date.

God romances us with that same kind of care and determination. I mean, it's really hard to say no to a guy who works for 2 hours, on top of putting the time into figuring out what to do, just to get a date. Likewise, it should be really difficult to say no to a God who puts His very life blood into it. A God who from the very beginning, planned and designed His life around us. As we get back into our study of I Cor. 13 Love, I want to take a moment (since it is Valentine's Day) to remind anyone still listening, that the Love we are talking about, the Love of a God who took eternity to plan how to romance us, then gave His very life blood, just for a "date", (a chance to Love us even more), is the same Love that every husband is called to give to his wife.
That demonstration of God's Love, is the same Love we are called to give to one another, and it is the very same Love we are called to give to our enemies, even if our spouse has somehow over time become our enemy.

As I have dedicated myself to the study of this Love, I have been challenged in ways that I know I could never answer in my own power. I have been convicted, in ways that have broken my heart in two. I have been humbled in ways that even the world says should not be so, and in the end, (not the end of the matter, I'm still studying, but the end as in the here and now) I have discovered a deeper understanding of God, a closer relationship to those I Love (including my husband), and a peace between myself and people who I once thought of as enemies. If I could leave you with anything, bestow upon you anything these studies have taught me, it would be this...Love is our answer, Love never fails, and in that unfailing Love, we discover, the greatest power, the greatest miracle, the greatest treasure that man can know. Greater that gold, greater than precious stones, greater that all the power and authority and money and fine things this world can afford. Greater still than thousands of armies, is the power and wonder and treasure of real Love.

So this valentines day, I will leave you with this blessing...may you find the strength to allow yourself to escape into the power, might, wealth, and wonders of a Love that is beyond knowing, a Love that transforms lives and changes situations. May you realize the incredible power that Love holds, and your role, as believers, in living out that Love, revealing that power, and showing the world that Love is the way. May you have the grace to practice this Love, even when it hurts.

Love keeps no record of wrongs...the word used here is an accounting term, we can even think in terms of book keeping, or our checkbooks. We carefully record every transaction, for the purpose of reconciling the account with the bank. Making everything even. So many times in the world, we try to do the same thing. In fact, how many times do we hear people say that they want to "even the score".

As we look at this characteristic of Love, it is important to understand that God throws our sins as far as the east is from the west. He remembers our sins no more. Many people try to equate forgiveness with forgetting, claiming that you have never really forgiven if you haven't forgotten what someone else did. Forgetting however, is a term that carries with it an unintentional behavior. If we go to the kitchen for something, and forget what we went after, it is an unintentional behavior. The forgetting when it comes to Loving others, is an intentional behavior...consider the following passages, Jeremiah 31:34
Hebrews 8:12
Hebrews 10:17
God's forgetting our sins, is a purposeful act in which the slat is cleared. There is no more debt. In fact, Hebrews 10:17-18...Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
shows us a clean record, no more sacrifice for sin is necessary...the forgiveness is about putting the sin, the offense behind us so that it can no longer come between us.
For me, one of the most beautiful passages to describe this aspect of Love is found in Jeremiah... 50:20...In those days, at that time," declares the LORD, "search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.


It can be dangerous for the abused to forget to watch for signs of abuse so that they can flee to safety. It might be dangerous for the parent to forget about the child's drug addiction, thus enabling the sin to continue on. It is not wise to forget your spouses infidelity, thus defiling what God ordained as good, but in Love, we can put the sin behind us, not allowing that sin to continue to come between us.


For example, I can remind my husband of his pledge of purity, without using his previous sins to destroy what we are now building. Our eyes need to remain on the things we are told to remember. The following study is about what God commands us to remember...it isn't the sins of the past (ours or others) that God wants us to remember. He wants us to remember things like what He has done, to pray, etc. Take a look at the list, and as you do, I encourage you to apply that list to those who have done you wrong...do you remember the wrong, holding it as a shield against future hurts, or do you remember the things that God tells us to remember, the things that will bring healing to a broken heart?



II Peter 1:9
Psalms 103:2
Ephesians 2:11-12


Remember all the things God has done....


I Thessalonians 1:3
II Thessalonians 1:11
Hebrews 6:10


Remember the good that is in the other person...


Ephesians 1:16
Colossians 1:9
I Samuel 12:23
Ephesians 1:17
II Thessalonians 1:11


Remember to pray for the other person...


Philippians 1:3
I Corinthians 1:4
II Corinthians 2:14
Ephesians 5:20
I Thessalonians 2:13


Even with difficult, abusive people, we can remember for the purpose of giving thanks...


II Thessalonians 2:15
I Corinthians 11:2
Titus 1:9


Remember the things we have been taught and live by those things that are trustworthy and right....


Hebrews 13:3
Romans 12:15
Hebrews 10:34


Remember those who are suffering...

Hebrews 13:7
Hebrews 13:17
Hebrews 13:24


Remember your leaders...


Deuteronomy 4:9
Deuteronomy 6:12
Deuteronomy 8:11
Deuteronomy 8:10-14
Isaiah 51:12-13


Remember the Lord and all that He has done...remember the Lord through obedience to His commands...


Deuteronomy 9:7-9
Genesis 9:12-17


Remember the wrath of God...


Psalms 103:2
I Chronicles 16:12-13
Psalms 116:12


Remember all of His benefits, His blessings...


Deuteronomy 8:1
Ezekiel 20:19
Psalms 119:16
Psalms 119:83
Numbers 15:39

Remember God's law, His precepts, His commands...


II Kings 17:38
Deuteronomy 4:23
Genesis 9:15
Luke 1:68-75
I Corinthians 11:25


Remember His covenants as He remembers them as well...


II Peter 1:5-9
Ephesians 5:25-27


Remember that you have been cleansed...


Hebrews 13:16
Luke 1:54


Remember to do good, that which is right...


Isaiah 43:18-19
Isaiah 65:17
Philippians 3:13-14


Remember the things to come...


before we go, let me leave you with one more set of passages. Many people make the mistake of thinking that to Love someone with this kind of forgiveness, this kind of forgetting the past (that is not keeping a record) only benefits the other person. This however, is not what scripture says, even God benefits from putting the issues of sin that separate us behind Him and in that moving forward. It is not about letting the other person off the hook, but rather it is about what that kind of Love gives us, how it transforms us, the giver of that Love.



Isaiah 43:25..."I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.


Matthew 6:14
Matthew 18:34-35
Mark 11:25
Luke 6:37
Proverbs 19:11II Corinthians 3:18

There is a children's book called Alexandar's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...some days are like that, "even in Australia"...but what happens when the whole week is like that...argh...

Mon. I got an emergency call from a friend in serious financial trouble. Tues. a friend in emotional and spiritual meltdown. Wed. when I was suppose to be enjoying a visit from my boys, I was babysitting a homeless alcoholic who was so drunk he had no idea what he was doing or saying. Yippee for Thurs. who knows what today will bring. On top of that, we got word, that once again, something our family really needs, isn't gonna happen and my husband is looking at loosing his job on top of all that. I can't say it's been the best of weeks. None the less, God is good. But there is a reason for this short version of my week. The reason, is because today we are talking about Love does not delight in evil.

The things listed in I Cor. 13, do not specify whether the offender is self or others, for example in Love does not delight in evil, we are not told if that evil is our own sin or the sins of others. We are not told if that delight is in the evil thing itself, or the result of that evil. There were times this week, that I struggled to Love. Sometimes it was my own sin of impatience, my own sin of wanting to be heard over the cries of others. In fact, as I was trying to sleep last night, I cried out for a friend, someone who would hear me, the struggles of our family, the crisis we are in, and I wondered why we could be there for everyone else but no one was there for us. But you see, that is a self seeking response to a stressful week, not a Love response. As I prayed, I gave it over to God, asking Him to replace my sin with His Love. I could very easily and have unfortunately in the past, enjoyed the self pity that comes from the sin of self centered pride. But Love does not rejoice, or delight in evil and that includes my pity parties.

But, if Love does not specify if the delight is in my own sin or the sin of others, I am once again guilty, at the very least, I have to take my pride to God and ask Him to humble me. You see, this homeless alcoholic comes to our house whenever he needs something. He even admits that is why he comes. I grow tired of his constant "need" when he is unwilling to do anything for himself. There are times, I try to listen to him, try to serve him, try to enjoy my boys around his being here, and my heart cries out...it serves him right to be hurting...serves him right to be cold...etc. because he is the one choosing to live in a bottle. Love does not delight in evil. Love takes no pleasure in the pain and suffering of another even if it is in the hands of their own making. Love simply does not delight in evil.

The problem most people have here is that they see Love and compassion as interchangable. Where it is true that Love is compassionate, it is NOT true that compassion is Love. A friend recently told me of a family he knows. They are struggling and hurting for food and money, but if you help them out, the parents use the money for other things, like in the case of one family I know of, drugs, sometimes gambling, or alcohol. As we talked, it became apparent that both of us were struggling with Love, because we were showing compassion for the children, but allowing that same compassion to turn us into judges with evil motives when it comes to the parents. Fortunately or unfortunately, the same compassion that longs to feed those children, is the same compassion that should compel us to Love the parents, to seek their restoration, not to delight in any evil that might come to them, rejoicing that they got what they deserved.

If we all got what we deserved, we would all be heading to hell, but in great Love, God takes no delight in evil, instead, God gives us mercy, forgiveness, a clean slate, with nothing due. How often can we say the same of those who have hurt us? Those that we see oppressing the innocent? Do we rejoice when the cops pull over the guy that sped by us on the road, or take joy in the terrorist that is killed, thus ending their reign of terror?

Amos 5:18 says...Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.

Amos reprimands us for desiring the day of the Lord (the second coming) because in that day, there is no longer hope for the lost. Love focuses on the restoration of everyone, not just those that we desire to show compassion, or those that earn our respect. Love shows no favortism, but rather, seeks the reconciliation/restoration of all. Love is compassionate, but Love does not allow compassion to turn us into judges with evil motives, because Love does not delight in evil.

So how then, can we encourage ourselves to live in this Love, in the face of extreme pain? Well, first, we need to understand that we are not the judge, God alone is qualified to judge the hearts of me.

Job 34:11
Psalms 28:4
Psalms 94:2
Isaiah 66:6
Jeremiah 14:16; 17:10; 21:14; 32:19; 49:12; 51:6
Lametations 3:64
Ezekiel 16:59
Zechariah 1:6
Hebrews 10:26-31

Let us also remember the mercy that God has shown us through the same Love He calls us to have for one another...

II Samuel 19:28
I Kings 2:26
Ezra 9:13
Job 33:27
Psalms 103:10
I Corinthians 15:9

It could be argued that compassion has to extend to the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and I couldn't argue with that, however, when it comes to Love, it is important according to I Cor. 13 to understand the difference between compassion for everyone, and taking joy that the oppressor got what he deserved.

Hosea 2:19
I Peter 3:8
Colossians 3:12
Zech. 7:9

May you find within your heart, a compassion for all, even those who hurt you so badly that you thought you might never recover. May you never delight in evil, but always find the grace and mercy to Love the way Christ Loves us.

Sometimes when studying Love, it can be really easy to get burdened and discouraged. As we begin to realize just how far we are from the kind of Love we are called to have for one another, it is easy to begin to feel weak, and maybe even like a failure. But what we have to remember is that just like our children, we might expect them to "help when asked" but when a very young child is just learning the lesson, we accept moment of failure as opportunities for correction. This is the way God asks us to Love. We are expected to Love, but as we are growing and learning to live in that Love, He takes our moments of failures as an opportunity to learn. It isn't as much about our failure as it is our opportunity to grow and mature and learn how to (in this case) Love as Christ Loved.

So I want to take a moment today, to encourage you in this Love, to challenge you to grow, mature, learn a bit more about Love and how it works, so that you will be better able to Love.

The first study on Love that I did, was called Expressions of Love. It looked at the ways God expresses His Love to us. Sun. in Sunday School, we were working of servant Love. If any of you are not aware of the fact yet, Jesus came to serve us, not to be served. Matthew 20:28. One of the ways He expresses His Love to us is through the servant leadership He gives to each of us.

But...the servant leadership isn't only about the humility of the servant, it is also about the lavished, importance of the one being served. God's Love for us, is a lavished Love. It isn't a Love that just gives us enough to survive, or a lesson on how to accept a foot washing...John 13...it is also about us, and, we way too often forget that. We look at the servant Jesus as a demonstration of great humility, and it is, here is the King of Kings, the Lord of Hosts, the God whose authority is final and absolute, coming to earth, allowing Himself to be made lower than the angles, so that He can serve us, lavish us with finery like nothing we have ever known.

When He gives us life, it isn't just life, but life in abundance....John 10:10
When He gives us strength, it isn't just survival strength, but strength to overcome...Luke 10:19
When He gives us power to be without sin, it isn't our power or our righteousness, but Christs...I Corinthians 1:30

We could go on, the peace He gives passes all understanding...Phil. 4:7 the point however, is the way He lavishes us within the midst of His amazing and powerful Love. He allows His Love to take an enemy and adopt them as beloved children. I John 3:1...

For a beautiful picture of just how lavish God's Love for man is, read Rev. 21 This is a lavishing Love, a Love that serves and in that serving, shows us a worth and value that we know in the depths of our hearts we don't deserve. God, serves us with a Love that builds us up, exults us, lavishes on us, serves us, shows the world that we are honored, lifted up, important.

That is one of many ways that Love transforms our lives. Love lavishes the receiver with honor, glory, it exults the recipient, showing them that though they may very well be dirtied by the world, they are still of great value. Though they may harbor evil in their hearts, they are of great worth. The very lavish nature of Love, builds us up, even when we are about as low as is humanly possible to be, and shows us that we are not the totality of what we see with our own eyes, in fact, the true value, the absolute worth of any man, ourselves included, cannot be known through physical eyes only, but it is with the spirit, with the knowledge of how great the Love of God is, that we find our true value, a Love in which our King came to serve us with lavishness.

So, today, we take a brief break from our I Cor. 13 list, to encourage one another, to lift one another up, exult one another with a lavish Love and serves us as though we were the royal, as if we were the exceptional, as if we are of great importance. But I also encourage you to show someone else today, just how lavishly God Loves them, we are His hands and feet, His body, it is through us that He shows a lost world, the lavished nature of His Love for us, evil, defiled, deceived man.

Personal note for those who are or have been badly hurt...lavishing someone else with Love is not about enabling them, God's Love is a balance of servant and parent, judge and advocate...lavishing another with Love does not mean that you equip them to live in sin, but rather it means that you show them how valuable they are, not amazing they are, in the hands of a God whose Love is beyond our comprehension.

Tomorrow, Love rejoices in the truth...

Love does not rejoice in evil, but it does rejoice in truth.

Where I come from, it is very easy to have a low self image. In fact, I came to Christ when I was 6 and with such a low self image that if I had figured out how, I would have seriously considered suicide an option. I was told my entire life that I had no value, that I had no worth. After finding God, I began a journey that was very different than the one I had begun those first 6 years. The new journey was a quest to know truth. Low self image is one of many lies that Satan uses to deceive us into pulling away from God. Over the years, I have learned and still purpose to hold truth close and discard the lies. It's a very difficult process, especially when the lies have been so well ingrained, but it is in taking these thoughts captive...II Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ...and setting those thoughts on the things of God...Phil.4:8...Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things...that we can begin the healing process that come through a Love that rejoices in the truth.

When we transform our minds, Romans 12:2...our hearts follow suit and our hearts are revealed by the very acts that we preform. This may very well be the one characteristic of Love that holds within it the greatest power to heal "ourselves".

The Greek verb sunchairo that is used here is an interesting compound that literally means to rejoice with. It is a corporate verb in that it is something that must be shared, it cannot be done alone. Love rejoices together with the truth.



Basically, I Cor. 13 is telling us to call others to rejoice with us in what is truth. It is not something to be hidden, or kept to ourselves, when we find truth, it is to be shared. By truth, we lift one another up, by truth, we encourage one another. In truth we find unity with one another. John 8:32, reveals to us the power of truth....

32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The following are a few of the times in scripture when we are called to rejoice with another over something....

Luke 1:57-66 (58 birth of a child)...
Luke 15:1-7 (6 rejoice with me..over what was lost, and then was found)...
Luke 15:8-10 (9 rejoice with me..over what was lost, and then was found)...
I Corinthians 12:12-30 (26 rejoice together)...
Philippians 2:12-18 (17,18 rejoice with you, rejoice with me)...


The noun in this phrase, alētheia, is one of the more common nouns in the New Testament. Truth is very important for the Gospel message because Christ himself is the truth (John 14:6). Love rejoices with real truth that is only found in Jesus. In a world that is desperately searching for the truth, Love rejoices with the real truth of Jesus. This is well illustrated in Philippians 1:12-18 where Paul is talking about motive for preaching Christ. Paul rejoices regardless of the motive because the truth of Jesus is preached. Love swallows it's pride and rejoices with the truth.


If you really want to know God, really want to be intimate with Him, it starts with rejoicing in truth, and discarding the lies (evil). Take no delight in those things that are evil. Maybe the hardest time to live in this part of Love, is in the midst of a fight, especially when we have been hurt. Emotions are high, things are said in the heat of the moment, comments made that are not truth, can make us feel better because in them, we set the other person straight, or hurt them like they hurt us. We call others names (James tells us that words are dangerous and evil), attack there personhood, insult one another, taking delight in these things, rather than delighting in the truth, even when truth hurts.


One side note here, Ephesians 4:15 tells us to speak the truth in Love. Some people allow this to be used as an excuse to attack others, but if we apply our definition of Love to that truth, we see a different picture. Love is putting another above ourselves, in an act of humility, creating a covenant, whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration. You see, speaking the truth in Love is not about feeling good about anything you have done, it is a pure focus on the restoration/reconciliation of the other person. Speaking the truth in Love, is purely for the benefit of leading the other person to the reconciliation of themselves to God or to you, nothing more, nothing less. So, if we are speaking the truth in Love, we first must ask ourselves, who will benefit? Will the message even be heard?


One day, God asked me to confront a man who had hurt our family very deeply in the midst of the deepest grief we have ever known, the loss of our son. Every ounce of my being wanted to reach out and strangle the man (literally), but God has called us to Love, that includes speaking the truth in Love. So I prayed as I listened to him yammer on, and I prayed until I was able to yield my heart over to God. Finally, it was my turn, and in those moments, God gave me a calm. In those moments, I spoke difficult words that were spoken, not out of hurt and pain, but out of Love. Not on my own strength, but on God's strength alone, I saw the power of speaking the truth in Love. Way too often, we speak out of anger, hurt, desire to win an argument; we speak out of pride, selfish ambition, arrogance, when in reality, we should only speak out of Love.



Our actions, reveal what is hidden in our hearts....our hearts are transformed by the truth, that is found in Christ...the following is a list of passages that tell us some of the truths we are to believe, truths we are to rejoice in...this is only a partial list, I encourage you to add others, both here and in the privacy of your own study and lives.

Matthew 22:15-22 (16, way of God)...
Mark 5:21-43 (33, hiding nothing)...
Mark 12:13-17 (14, way of God)...
Mark 12:28-34 (32, what is right about God)...
Luke 4:14-30 (25, to be sure, certain)...
Luke 20:20-26 (21, way of God)...
Luke 22:54-62 (59 to be sure, certain)...
John 1:1-18 (14,17, Jesus Christ, the grace and truth of Jesus Christ)...
John 3:1-21 (21, what is revealed by God and lived therein)...
John 4:1-26 (23,24, Spirit and truth, spirit and open honesty)...
John 5:31-47 (33, Jesus)...
John 8:31-47 (32, Jesus)...
John 8:48-59 (44, 45, 46, what is correct-the absence of lies)...
John 14:15-31 (6, 17, Jesus, Holy Spirit)...
John 15:26-27 (26, Holy Spirit)...
John 16:1-15 (7,13, Honesty-Holy Spirit-what is correct)...
John 17:6-19 (17, 19, Word-God-what is real, not faked)...
John 18:28-40 (37,38, gospel-what is correct)...
Acts 4:23-31 (27, indeed-reality)...
Acts 10:23b-48 (34, revelation of certainty)...
Acts 26:1-32 (25, certain-correct)...
Romans 1:18-32 (18,25, what is certain about God)...
Romans 2:1-16 (2, 8, God's judgment-opposition to evil)...
Romans 2:17-29 (20, what is right, certain)...
Romans 3:1-8 (7, God's honesty and certainty)...
Romans 9:1-5 (1, Holy Spirit witness)...
Romans 15:1-13 (8, God's honesty, certainty)...
I Corinthians 5:1-13 (8, sincerity and honesty)...
II Corinthians 4:1-18 (2, open honesty; plain truth)...
II Corinthians 6:3-13 (7, speaking what is correct)...
II Corinthians 7:2-16 (14, what is correct, right)...
II Corinthians 11:1-15 (10, what is correct in Christ)...
II Corinthians 12:1-10 (6, humility)...
II Corinthians 13:1-10 (8, what is correct in Christ)...
Galatians 2:1-10 (5, gospel)...
Galatians 2:11-21 (14, gospel)...
Galatians 3:1-14 (1, what is clear)...
Galatians 5:1-12 (7, faith expressing itself through Love)...
Ephesians 1:3-14 (13, the gospel of salvation)...
Ephesians 4:17-32 (21, 24, 25, Christ Jesus-righteousness and holiness-what is correct)...
Ephesians 5:1-20 (9, what is light)...
Ephesians 6:10-20 (14, belt of truth; what is correct)...
Philippians 1:12-26 (18, correct motive)...
Colossians 1:3-14 (5, 6, gospel-grace)...
II Thessalonians 2:1-12 (10, 12, 13, Jesus-gospel-God's righteousness)...
I Timothy 2:1-15 (4, 7, Jesus-what is correct)...
I Timothy 3:14-16 (15, gospel; God)...
I Timothy 4:1-16 (3, gospel-God)...
I Timothy 6:2b-10 (5, righteousness)...
II Timothy 2:14-26 (15, 18, Word of God-God)...
II Timothy 3:1-9 (7, 8, righteousness-Christ)...
II Timothy 4:1-8 (4, Christ)...
Titus 1:1-4 (1, Christ)...
Titus 1:10-16 (14, Salvation)...
Hebrews 10:19-39 (26, Christ)...
James 1:2-18 (18, Word of God)...
James 3:13-18 (14, what is correct)...
James 5:13-20 (19, righteousness)...
I Peter 1:13-25 (22, righteousness)...
II Peter 1:12-21 (12, Jesus and resurrection)...
II Peter 2:1-22 (2, way of Christ)...
I John 1:5-10 (6, 8, what is correct-confession)...
I John 2:3-11 (4, obedience)...
I John 2:18-27 (21, Christ)...
I John 3:11-24 (18, 19, Love of God-hearts that trust)...
I John 4:1-6 (6, Holy Spirit)...
I John 5:1-12 (6, Holy Spirit)...
II John 1:1-13 (1, 2, 3, 4, gospel-Christ-Holy Spirit-obedience)...
III John 1:1-14 (1, 3, 4, 8, 12, gospel-obedience-gospel-Christ)...

When we talk about the lavishness of Love as we did Mon. we usually think about heaven and the streets of gold. But God is lavishing us with Love every day, even in the here and now. I just finished this partial list of ways that God lavishes us with Love in the here and now, thought some of you might enjoy the list. This lavishness, is the same kind of lavish Love we are to have for others, if that isn't a tall order, I don't know what is....(not suggesting we can give salvation to others, just saying the lavish nature of this Love is the same)

How does God lavish His Love on us in the here and now?


We are lavished with salvation and forgiveness even while we are enemies....
Romans 5:8,10...


We are lavished with power even when we have no power...
Romans 5:6...


We are lavished with an advocate, and intercessor, a defender...
Romans 8:34...
I John 2:1...


We are lavished with reconciliation, which is a two way street...
Colossians 1:15-20...


We are lavished by not having to face God's wrath...
Romans 5:9...


We are lavished with Love even when we are unLoveable...
Romans 5:6-8...


We are lavished with all things...
Romans 8:32...
Philippians 4:19...


We are lavished with the Holy Spirit....
Galatians 2:20...
I Corinthians 6:17...


We are lavished with adoption by our King of kings and Lord of lords....
I John 3:1...


We are lavished with abundant life...
John 10:10...


We have been lavished with power and strength to do what before we could not do...
Luke 10:19...
Romans 8:37...


We are lavished with the righteousness of Christ...
I Corinthians 1:30...
Romans 8:1...
II Corinthians 5:21...
Philippians 3:9...


In Christ, we are lavished with a peace that passes all understanding...
Philippians4:7...




We are lavished with a constant companion, a God that never leaves us...
Deuteronomy 31:6...
Hebrews 13:5...


We are lavished with help in our time of trouble...
Psalms 9:9...


We are lavished by being a blessing to our King...
John 3:29...


We are lavished with joy that is beyond words...
I Peter 1:8...


We are lavished with holiness...
Romans 6:22...


God lavishes us with Love, a Love so full that it flows out to others...
I John 4:16...


We are lavished with Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control...
Galatians 5:22-23...
Romans 2:4...


We are lavished with God's goodness...
Psalms 31:19...
Psalms 145:7...


We are lavished with faithfulness...
Exodus 34:6...
Psalms 108:4...


We are lavished with gentleness...
Luke 1:78...

We are lavished with self control...
Jonah 4:2...


We are lavished with compassion...
Psalms 103:8...


We are lavished with mercy...
I Timothy 1:16...


We are lavished with lack of fear, courage...
I John 4:18...


We are lavished with grace...
Ephesians 1:7...
We are lavished with an inheritance...
Ephesians 1:18...


We are lavished with Christ...
Ephesians 3:8...
Philippians 4:19...


We are lavished with hope...
Colossians 1:27...


We are lavished with understanding the mysteries of God...
Colossians 2:2...


We are lavished with welcome, no hesitation...
II Peter 1:11...


We are lavished with wisdom...
James 1:5...


We are lavished with a refuge, a safe haven...
Psalms 5:11...


We are lavished with the fullness of God...
Ephesians 3:19...

Good morning...sometimes, in life, we feel threatened, like we are collapsing, being overcome. Life seems to be taking us under, and we feel like we are drowning in it. Consider Psalms 36:7...How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. Or Psalms 57:1...For the director of music. [To the tune of] "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. Our refuge is in God. He is the one who covers us with His wings and there we find safety and shelter.

The Greek word stego means to cover or protect. The Latin word toga and the English words deck and thatch come from stego. Love is a protective covering that insulates the object of it from harm. Love is a spiritual armor that protects all from all types of harm. Some commentators focus on the idea of love covering over a multitude of sins as in 1 Peter 4:8. However Love does not cover up wrongdoing because Love rejoices with the truth. In that rejoicing with the truth Love covers the beloved from the irreparable harm that comes from gossip.



Like previously we see two sides to the issue, one is that of forgiveness, Love covers our sins with forgiveness and in doing so, covers a multitude of sins. (I Peter) However, Love is also our refuge in our time of trouble, Psalms 46:1...For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.


Love always or protects all things is the beginning of a section of "Love always", pulling us towards the end of our I Cor. 13 study on the list of characteristics of Love. It is important here, to understand the word all or always, though that might sound a bit crazy, I mean it is a pretty simple word...consider this...Verse seven has quite a few differences between the translations and one of the main problems is translation of the Greek word panta. Most translate it all things but a few translate it always. However after considerable study I have decided to translate it with the more basic meaning of all because it fits better in terms of English usage and word order. I found the following quote from David Guzzik to be an excellent devotional thought on the usage of all things in this verse.
“All things: we might have hoped Paul would have chosen any phrase
but this! All things encompasses everything! We can all bear some things, we can all believe some things, we can all hope some things, we can all
endure some things. But God calls us farther and deeper into love for Him,
for one another, and for a perishing world.”


In my life, I have faced a host of challenges, one such challenge was coming to God out of a need to survive and my situation never changing. Time and time again, I would call out to God, and time and time again, I would wonder where God was, why He had abandoned me. Recently we studied Psalms in our college class, where time and time again, we see the same cry to God....Psalms 13:1...For the director of music. A psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?...It is not a new feeling. Especially when we are in the midst of a deep and dark period of our lives, when everything we try seems to fail. Sometimes, our very own emotions betray us as we struggle against this thing in our lives. "Man betrays us, God betrays us, and our own emotions betray us", we are alone in the world, facing what no one else understands, trying to survive when we know without fail we will loose the battle. That is when we need to remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us; that God is our refuge and strength; that Love, always protects. Even in the midst of our pain and anguish, we have shelter. When I think of this sheltering nature of Love, I am reminded of the movie, Lord of the Rings, I think it is Return of the King...Frodo falls down the mountain, and is in danger of being spotted by the Orks, so Sam Wise runs to his rescue, covering him with his cloak, and together they appear like nothing more than a rock and there go unnoticed. Love covers us like that, protecting us, hiding us from the enemy, protecting us while we heal, while we fight the battle that has been entrusted to us.


In my own life, I came to God because I knew I could never survive without Him, but since my situation didn't change, I often felt as David in the Psalms, like God had abandoned me. Then, one day, (long story) I was beaten with a belt for something I did not do, and Christ stood in my place that day. I neither felt the sting, nor were there marks, Christ took my punishment. It was then, that I found the courage to look back over the years, and in doing so, I saw that God had "covered me with His wings" time and time again, so much so, that what should have taken my life, became nothing more than a breeding ground for me to thrive.



If God protects us with that kind of Love, may we never forget to cover each other with the same kind of Love. Too many times, we see people who have fallen, they are in danger of being destroyed, and instead of coming to their aid like Sam Wise did, we watch from a high place, maybe praying that they will not be discovered, praying that if they are discovered they don't rat out our location...we fail to Love them with the Love that protects, covers us. When our son died, there were those, who stood in fear that this might come to them. When I speak of the abuses of my past, there are those who try to compete. When I speak of the healing I have known, there are those that try to condemn as if I know nothing of pain or healing. When we have been beaten up and left for dead beside the road of life, I have often questioned, where our "good Samaritan" was. Love is a rare commodity in this world we live in, a wise man holds Love dear, shares it openly, and covers the lost, wounded, hurting, till they are strong enough to cover others.



What are we protected from?
II Corinthian 6:3-11...
Psalm 7:1-2...
Psalm 9:7-10...
Psalm 17:6-9...
Psalm 27:4-5...
Psalm 31:9-20...
Psalm 59:14-17...
Psalm 61:1-5...
Psalm 68:19-23...
Psalm 73:27-28...
Psalm 91:1-16...
Psalm 94:20-23...
Psalm 116:5-6...
Psalm 141:8-10...
Psalm 142:5-7...
Psalm 143:7-10...
Proverbs 14:26...
Proverbs 14:32...
Isaiah 25:1-5...
What rewards are there for taking refuge in Love?
II Corinthian 11:12-15...
I Corinthian 1:4-9 (8 keep you strong)...
Psalm 5:8-12...
Psalm 41:1-3...
Psalm 46:1-3...
Psalm 144:1-2...
Romans 2:1-16...
Romans 3:21-31...



What are the results of Loves bearing all things?
I Corinthian 9:7-12 (12 put up with)...
Psalm 34:8-14...
Psalm 34:21-22...
Psalm 37:39-40...
Psalm 62:5-8...
Psalm 64:10...
Psalm 119:113-120...
Proverbs 2:1-8...
Jeremiah 16:19-21...
Joel 3:14-16...
Nahum 1:7-8...
Galatians 5:13-26 (22 forbearance)...




When I teach this lesson, I usually separate Love always into one lesson and Love always protects or bears all things, into another. With so little impute from you all here, I'm not comfortable making it into two lessons, so let me give you a very brief, and interesting truth about Love Always....or Love...All Things....


If you notice the following two passages carefully, you will see something very interesting....
[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]Mark 12:30[/FONT]
[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. [/FONT]


[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]I Corinthians 13:7[/FONT]
[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. [/FONT]


In Mark we see that we are to Love the Lord with all our heart (emotional center) our soul (spiritual center) our mind (intellectual center) and our strength (encompassing our entire beings). In I Cor. 13, we see that Love speaks to and through our emotional center (hopes all things) our spiritual center (believes all things) our intellectual center (bears all things) and our entire beings (endures all things).


But lets look deeper still. Bearing all things (also known as protects all things) is about our structure. If we are equating it to building a spiritual man, Love protects all things, is the bone, the structure that supports and protects our spiritual man. This is our framework.


But our spiritual man also needs thought, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. It is with the mind that we think and feel, and it is Love that trusts or believes all things, and hopes all things.



But man is not complete or whole unless he can also move. We need muscles to complete our man. We have the skeletal framework, the mental and emotional nature, but what of the muscles, the part of Love that governs our actions, Love perseveres or endures all things. This is the muscles of our spiritual man, and so it is that Love affects every aspect of who we as believers are and it should be the cornerstone by which our spiritual man, our new creation is built on.



Quick story. My husband is famous for running out of gas. One trip, we had a credit card but no cash. Low on gas we stopped at a station that didn't take the card, so we put in enough gas to get to the next station, who also didn't take the card. Most of the trip was like this, eventually, we were tearing out the cushions of the car, looking for loose change to put into the tank so we could make it home.


On another occasion, our son was a baby, it was a cold night and we thought we could make it too the station. However, we ran out of gas before we were in sight. My husband tried to walk while I kept the baby warm in my coat. Car after car buzzed by. Long story made really short, we were out of ideas, it was just too cold for my husband to walk and make it, and no one was stopping to help. So we sat, huddling to stay warm and prayed. Someone pulled up behind us and asked what was wrong, we explained. He said, wait here and came back with gas...he was a tanker truck hauling gasoline, and followed us to the station, which is where he was going anyway.


Many of us, go through life, like the first trip where we ran out of gas. Living in and living Love in spurts, little moments of time in which we are seeking for enough change to make it to the next stop.



God's plan for us, is that we have a tanker full of Love following us around, never running out of gas ever again. May you live your life as if God (the tanker of Love) is following you around, constantly living in Love and sharing it with others. May you always know the protection of Love as you are covered and protected in ALL THINGS...

sacerdote said:

It is good to see that you are humming right along with this Bible Study. If I had the time I would join you. God bless you.

Click to expand...

Would love to see more of your here, it is a study that will change your life. I have about 9 deep studies planned with a few dozen smaller studies in mind, all about Love.

Hope your having a wonderful day...

It is so hard to lead a bible study when no one is providing input, I don't know if I am going too slow, too fast, too deep, not deep enough, etc. None the less, we move forward, into the next Love always or in all things...Love always believes/trust, or Love believes/trusts all things...

The Greek word pisteuo is one of the most common in the New Testament. Its most common translation is believe. However some translations render it trust which is the one I feel best carries the idea of the innocence of love. Think of our trust of our Heavenly Father. We believe and trust in all that He teaches us in His Holy Word.



Trust in God and His Love is the one constant in the world that we can be confident in. God doesn't change, He is constant, sure, His promises are absolute. God's Love is unfailing, unwavering, just, eternal, in that we can trust. Love always trust, it always believes that our best interest is at the heart of the issue.


Consider our definition, Love is putting another above ourselves, in an act of humility, creating a covenant, whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration. Notice the covenant part of our definition? A covenant is a promise with staying power, not something easily broken. Love covenants with us and in that covenant we can take refuge and put our trust. In a previous study on Love, we put together a brief list of ways to build our trust muscle, take a look at some of the ways to build our trust in God....



Ways to build our trust muscles...


James 1:2-8...practice through difficult times
II Kings 17:14...soften your heart
Psalms 9: 9-11...sing praises
Psalms 13:4-6...praise God
Psalms 40:3-5...humble yourself...know who you really are
Psalms 62:8...pour out your heart
Psalms 78:7...remember and obey
Psalms 115...gain knowledge of who God is
Psalms 119:42...know the word of God
Psalms 143:8...learn about God's unfailing love
Proverbs 22:19...be taught
Isaiah 25:9...remember
Isaiah 26:4...know who God is
Romans 4:5...rest

I Corinthians 13:7...LOVE


However when it comes to humanity Love is not so gullible as to believe everything that comes out of another persons mouth. In fact Love stops the gossip by refusing to believe all of the lies coming out of their mouth and instead believes the good that God has created in the heart of us all.



Remember, we just finished the part of Love that says, Love does not rejoice in evil but does rejoice in the truth...this is important when it comes to understanding Love trusts/believes all things....so when we see that Love believes or trusts all things, we aren't talking about every lie that man can compose, instead, we are talking about Love not doubting without reason. Love is neither gullible or cynical it is transformational. It sees what God has created in the heart of all of us and believes in that instead of false accusations. Notice, that in order for Love towards others to be Love that believes all things/trusts all things, it has to be a Love that sees with different eyes. A Love that sees with the Spirit within rather than the fleshly eyes we are so use to seeing with. Love looks earnestly for the true good in everyone and in every situation. It trusts in the love the Father has for us all.


Two scriptures came to my mind...
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8


For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38&39


This is especially hard when someone has hurt you. To see them as God sees them, as God sees us, broken people in need of Love. Broken peoples whose Love worth is beyond compare, beyond measure. Yet, this is what we are called to, to see them, as broken people Loved by God and in need of Love, with more potential, more worth, more hope than words are capable of knowing.


This weekend, as I take a break from this study to spend time with my family and close friends here, may you begin to see through different eyes, eyes that see what is hidden from the world, eyes that see the worth and potential of even those who you cannot stand.




wow, so many passages to study and that is just off one study, there is still another one coming...so let me see, what might be of interest to you....



Who all are we suppose to love?


Leviticus 19:18, 34
Deuteronomy 6:5
Deuteronomy 10:12,19
Deuteronomy 11:1
Deuteronomy 13:3
Deuteronomy 19:9
Deuteronomy 30:6, 16
I Kings 3:3
Matthew 5:43
Matthew 19:19
Matthew 22:37, 39
Mark 12:33
Luke 10:27
Romans 13:9
Galatians 5:14
I John 3:11
I John 4:21



What can Love accomplish?


Isaiah 25:1...patience/faithfulness I Corinthian 13...
Proverbs 10:12
Proverbs 15:18
Proverbs 16:28
Proverbs 17:9
I Peter 4:8
James 5:20


Is Love an empty effort?


Numbers 23:19
Deuteronomy 32:2
Psalm 33:11
Proverbs 19:21
Isaiah 14:24
Isaiah 40:8
Isaiah 45:23
Isaiah 46:10
Isaiah 55:11
Jeremiah 23:20
Matthew 24:35
James 3:13


How do we know that Love is the answer?


Ezekiel 24:14
Matthew 5:16
Matthew 9:8
Matthew 16:27
Matthew 25:37-40
John 13:34-35
John 15:8
Romans 14:18
I Corinthian 8:3
II Corinthian 5:10
Colossians 3:24
Ephesians 6:8
Philippians 2:15
Titus 2:8
I Peter 2:12, 15
I Peter 3:1, 16
I Peter 4:11
I John 2:3, 4, 10, 29
I John 3:7, 14
I John 4:7-8
I John 5:2




Enjoy your study and your weekend...there are still many wonderful mysteries to uncover in the characteristics of Love found in I Cor. 13...

Wow do I need this one this week...Love hopes all things, or Love always hopes... Love hopes all. The Greek word elpizo can be translated hope or trust. This hope is very different from the way we use hope today. My high school Algebra 2 teacher, Mr. Ramsey, use to talk about all of the students who studied by the hopah method. They said to themselves, “Ah hoph ah pass”. They were not sure because they did not study. It was pure wishful thinking. This hope is nothing like that. It is sure of every promise, every truth, every teaching, every prophecy, every song, and every word that God has for us in the Bible.


I often find myself either being forced to remind myself of the truths of God, or forgetting altogether, the wonders of a God who Loves with a covenant Love, a passionate Love, a promised Love. How many times do we take back what we gave Him, because we doubt in our hearts that we can trust Him to want only what is best for us? How many times do we judge others, because we don't trust that God will avenge us of the wrong done to us? How many times do we question the word of God because things didn't go as we wanted them to? How many times do we allow fear to make our decisions, because we fail to accept the Love God has for us?



I have over the years heard many people use belief and faith interchangeably. When we study the words, we discover they are two very different things. Belief is being convinced that something is true, faith on the other hand, is believing it is true to such a degree that we trust it. Simple belief we are told in John 3:16 is what is needed for salvation, but it is faith that brings to us Christ's righteousness. How many times have we or have we seen people who believe, but never live what they claim, never turn their belief into faith? I see it every day, and struggle with it every moment of the day in my own life. When we study scripture, we see a God that seems too good to be true, a God that is truly amazing and beyond our ability to comprehend, but that fairytale image we have of God, is very difficult to trust, because we all know that fairytales are not real. God is more than a fairytale, and one evidence in that is that the Love He shows us, hopes all...


Love is sure that we are in God's tender care. It is sure that God created good in all of us no matter how deep we bury it in sin. It is a hope that cannot be shaken.



When I was face to face with a man that hurt our family badly, I struggled to see good in the man. When I face down my abusers, I find it hard to see them with the eyes of Christ, eyes that see that hint of the "image of God"...(Gen. 1:26)...sin so marrs that image that in some people it is nearly impossible to see it. When we mingle that marred image with our own pains and tear filled eyes, we can't see what God desperately wants to show us. We can't see the Love, the grace, the mercy, the compassion that God has for them, that He knows is our answer, and that He has shown to us. Sometimes we are too busy comparing our own selves to the sins of others, to allow our eyes to clear enough to see the hint, the glimmer of value that is hidden beneath the layers upon layers of sin. But Love always hopes, always sees that there is more than what meets the eye. Love takes us behind the curtains of sin and sees a value whose worth needs fanned into flames, becoming a refiners tool...Malachi 3:2...This vision is not possible with physical eyes only, nor is it possible with the worlds love, the vision we are talking about is only possible through the eyes of the new spiritual man.


Some time ago, a man went into an Amish school, and shot and killed many of the students. It was reported that that afternoon, some of the parents of those children, fixed a meal and took it to the family of the man who did this horrifying thing. They were seeing with different eyes from that of the world, they were seeing with eyes that looked past their own pain and suffering into the hearts of other people who were also in pain and suffering. In that vision, they were able to grieve together, not apart. This is a Love that hopes all...what a challenge for us...


Love then, always trusts, but what does it trust in? Is it God alone that we trust? Others, even though we know they are liars? Does God always trust us even when we lie to Him, for He always Loves. Love trusts, that Love is always the answer, it looks beyond our flaws and sees what is deeper within, it sees past the lies into truths that are sometimes hidden so deeply within that we ourselves don't know they are there. Love trusts that Love is always the answer to every question man will face. When I am abused, the answer I need is found somewhere in the midst of Love. When I grieve, the answer is found somewhere in the midst of Love. When I am alone, the answer is Love, when I hurt, when I am angry, when I am facing a storm, the answer is found in the midst of Love. Throughout scripture, time and time again, we see people who were struggling, people who were facing great obstacles, and their answer was always Love, Love hopes/trust all seems like too simple an answer, but when we get into the heart of the matter and begin to understand what Love really is and how it transforms lives, it becomes clear that Love hopes/trusts all. It is always our answer.


Consider[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]Hebrews 11:1 [/FONT][FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.[/FONT] The very substance, the essence, the fundamental part of hope is our faith. That faith that trusts completely in our Lord. The faith that falls with complete abandonment into the Loving arms of our Father, the King. It is a trust in the promises of God, a trust in His Love and goodness, a faith in the power and grace of our Lord and King, that gives us hope. If faith, trust is the essence, the core, the root of our hope, what then is our hope?



[FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]Romans 8 :22-27 (NIV) We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.[/FONT][FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif] Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently[/FONT][FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif]. [/FONT][FONT=Dolphin, sans-serif] In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
[/FONT]


What is hope?


Psalm 65:5
Proverbs 3:25-26
Proverbs 14:26
Romans 8:18-25
II Corinthians 4:16-18
II Corinthians 5:6-10
Philippians 3:1-11
II Thessalonians 3:1-5
Hebrews 3:4-6, 12-15
Hebrews 6:15-20
Hebrews 10:19-25, 32-39
Hebrews 11:1, 13-16, 27
I John 3:21-24
I John 5:14-15
Colossians 2:1-3


What can we hope in?


Matthew 12:15-21
Acts 26:1-32
Romans 8:22-25
Romans 15:11-13
I Corinthians 15:12-28
II Corinthians 1:8-11
Philippians 2:19
I Timothy 4:6-10
I Timothy 5:3-8
I Timothy 6:17-19
I Peter 1:13-16


How should Love shape our hope?


Luke 6:27-36
I Corinthians 16:5-9
II Corinthians 1:12-14
II Corinthians 5:11-12
II Corinthians 8:1-7
II Corinthians 13:5-10
Philippians 2:23-24
I Timothy 3:14-16
Philemon 1:22
I Peter 3:1-6
II John 1:12
Hebrews 6:9-12


How many of our hopes are for selfish gain? Misplaced hope? Misguided hope?



Luke 23:8-12
Luke 24:19-24
John 5:41-47
Acts 24:22-27


Further consider Luke 6:23-36


It is a confident hope that builds within us a faith that can move mountains and a Love that transforms lives....

Before we move into Love perseveres all, I want to take a moment to emphasize one of the things we talked about yesterday. Many, many people, think that salvation is only about belief...we believe that Christ is God, come in flesh to save us...and, according to John 3:16, that is true. We are however, called to Love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and exceedingly. This kind of Love draws us deeper into God, deeper into our faith. One of the things that Love does, is grow us into trust. IOW's if you are truly Loving God, you will begin to turn your belief into faith over the years. (faith being a strong enough belief that you put your trust in that thing).

I wanted to bring that up for two reasons, one, is that it is a very important part of our walk with the Lord, and two because today, we get to talk about Love perseveres all...the two may not seem to fit together but they really do.

The Greek word hupomeno is a compound verb that contains hupo – under and meno – tarry or stand. Outside of the Bible it was often used in battle descriptions to note the soldiers who stayed behind to fight when most of the rest had retreated. Love does not surrender it stands and fights for God until the very end. Even when everyone else is gone,when everyone else has grown weary of the trial, real Love perseveres, real Love continues on. Love does not waiver, collapsing under the weight, but remains when all else fades away. Love sticks by when it seems the battle has been lost and in those moments, reveals a hope that has escaped all others. Love stands against the Goliath's of the world, it continues to march around the walls of Jericho. Love battles on, even when the soldiers fighting along side, flee, because Love perseveres. Love trusts that the battle can and will be won. The perseverance of Love, builds within us a hope that is not of this world, a hope that remains strong in the midst of what seems hopeless, and becomes a battle cry for others that the war is not yet over, hope still reigns, and truth will prevail. Like the tree, or the lone soldier remaining to fight, Love doesn't flee, doesn't vanish when things get tough. Love stands firm, holds on, and endures to it's last breath.


The best definition for Love that I have found is...Love is putting others above self, in an act of humility, creating a covenant, whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration. When we look at this definition, we see two important elements for our understanding of Love perseveres all...the first, is the purpose for Love. Sometimes we forget that there is a purpose to Love, a goal for which it exists. In some passages that talk about Love in the body of believers, the purpose is listed as unity, which is at it's heart about reconciliation/restoration. When we understand and get a proper understanding of what Love is all about, then the rest of Love can follow suit. For example, many people on the married couples board, have been hurt very badly by their spouse. When we stop thinking that Love has no purpose or that the purpose of Love is to feel good, or any other purpose we can think up, and understand that the purpose is reconciliation/restoration (as we talked about before that does NOT mean returning a broken relationship to it's previous status of brokenness or easily broken), then our Love has a tangible meaning that translates into power to live in that Love.


In my own marriage, my husband was addicted to inappropriate content, it almost tore our marriage apart into an irreconcilable end, but when I began to understand that if I Loved my husband the way God intended, I had to be involved in his restoration and reconciliation to God, our whole marriage changed. There was now a purpose for my Loving him, a reason, a goal. It wasn't so that I could reconcile his relationship for him, but that we now had a shared goal for my purpose to Love him. It is important to have a reason for what we are doing and in the case of Love, that reason is reconciliation/restoration/unity.



So, once we get our purpose in order, the next step is to understand covenant, or, the perseverance nature of Love. When Christ Loved us, He made a covenant to free us from the bondage of sin, to never allow anything to separate us from His Love. (Galatians 4:7; Romans 8:38) A covenant is a promise with staying power, it is a commitment to the long term, not easily broken kind of promise. It is a promise you can bank on. God made that promise to us...Matthew 28:20. Likewise, Loving others involves the long haul, the covenant to stay even when every fiber of our being cries out to run. (now, a note of clarity, that does not mean to remain in an abusive relationship, what it means is that we need to continue to Love, sometimes from a distance, but always in covenant with Love).


There have been many times in our lives, when we wished to run, when the church attacked my husband, then myself, then our children for preaching that we are to Love even our enemies, we longed to run. When our friends we so angry that they wouldn't talk to us, because we asked them to sit down and talk with us about calling, we ached to run. When we were disciplining and were asked what to do when you have an issue with a brother, and we showed them scripture and before it was over, we were accused by others of trying to divide the church, gossip, being a loose cannon, etc., the temptation was to run. When our children we physically assaulted for our stand for Christ, the temptation to run was almost unbearable, but Love doesn't run, Love stands firm, Love perseveres in the goal/purpose for which it exists. When the homeless alcoholic comes once again to the door wanting money for booze, or food we need for our children, and he refuses to help himself though many people have Loved him for years, Love perseveres/endures...


With that understanding of goal, comes the responsibility of finishing the race. Acts 20:24 Setting a goal firmly in place, God established a way for us to measure our Love, to know when our work of Love was finished, and a way to measure just how much of God is flowing through us, so that we are always aware of just how much closer we need to be to our King. How much our belief (being convinced) has grown into faith (trust).




Many years ago my husband was a long distance runner who often had the dry heaves at or near the end of a race. It was very hard to push through but he still did and would find a way to sprint to the finish even while his body was trying to throw up. Love has that kind of endurance that pushes all the way through to the finish line. It endures attacks from others and it endures attacks for others while shielding and protecting them from all harm.


When I think of the endurance or perseverance of Love, I think of both Christ and Paul, and all that they endured/persevered through, in Love. With that in mind, consider the following...




What does love endure?


Matthew 10:21-23
Matthew 24:9-14
Mark 13:12-13
Luke 21:19
Galatians 6:9
Romans 12:9-13
Hebrews 10:36
II Timothy 2:8-13
Luke 18:7
II Corinthians 4:17
I Peter 5:10
Romans 8:17
Revelations 3:10
Hebrews 10:32-35
Hebrews 12:1-3, 7-11
James 1:2-8, 12
James 5:10-11
I Peter 2:18-21


Enduring gives an idea of persistence to the end, is there a point when endurance can end?


Luke 2:41-52
Acts 17:13-15


Endurance comes from what source? How can we endure with the perseverance of Love?


II Corinthians 1:6
II Timothy 2:3-7
Revelations 1:9
Romans 5:1-5

As we come to the end of our list of Love's characteristics, we see that Love never fails.... I want to tell you a story, as I do, I want you to focus on one word, fall.
Paul was often times a prisoner, in his letters we read that he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, but he also was often times a prisoner of Rome and in this story, Paul and some others were prisoners of Rome. The prisoners are being transferred to Italy by the Imperial Regiment centurion Julius. And so our story begins...the first stop was in Sidon where Paul had friends. Julius was kind of fond of Paul and so he allowed his prisoner to seek out his friends and allow those friends to provide for Paul what he would need. After the little adventure in Sidon, Paul, his fellow prisoners, Julius the centurion, and the other sailors, left for Cyprus but the winds were strong and blew the band of travelers to Lycia instead. In Lycia, Julius found another vessel that was headed to Italy and there commissioned them to take himself and the cargo of prisoners on their voyage.
To make a long story short, they too discovered an opposing wind, a wind so strong that it made their trip painstakingly slow and they still didn't end up in Italy but rather at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. Now winter was approaching and travel would be dangerous. Paul, not known for holding his tongue in the matters of God, warned Julius and the ships captain and mates that if they proceeded on their journey, there would be loss of ship, cargo, and lives. Julius liked Paul but his orders were clear and so he refused to listen to the warning and instead listened to the crew that decided to risk the journey and move on.
When the southerly winds blew across the water, the ship set sail. Soon the winds turned into a hurricane, and the ship was caught in the fierce winds. The men became afraid that they would fall in the storm and they would loose their very lives. As the winds pushed the ship toward the island of Carida, the crew could barely make the lifeboat secure. In fact, they hoisted the lifeboat aboard the ship, and tied ropes around the ship to hold it together, lowered anchor and there they sat, as the waves beat against the haul. The storm brought such fear to the men that they began throwing cargo into the sea in hopes of saving their ship and lives. The storm raged on. By the third day of the storm, the men even threw the ships tackles overboard in hopes of rescuing themselves. Day after day the storm raged on, eventually they gave up hope and began to prepare themselves for the inevitable death they were doomed to face.
It was in the moment in which the men lost hope, that Paul speaks again, this time offering words of encouragement. 'You have gone a long time without food', Paul says, 'you should have listened when I told you not to go to Crete. But you didn't...' At this point, maybe a splash of water pours over the bow of the ship and hits Paul full face. He sputters the water from his mouth and nose and continues on. 'If you had listened to me you would have avoided all this. Oh well, I tried to tell you.' Another wave comes crashing in, and Paul spits out the water and some seaweed with it. 'Nevertheless, stand firm, be courageous, no one will be lost if you do what I tell you. Last night, an angel of God, you know, the God I belong to and serve, came to me and stood beside me and told me not to be afraid. I will have to go before Ceasar, but not at the cost of anyone here. All who sail with you this day will be spared. Keep your courage for I have faith in God. But before God can do all this, we must fall downupon an island, we must run aground.'
For 14 days the crew weathered the storm, their ship tied together with ropes, their cargo thrown overboard and their hopes gone. About midnight of the 14th day, the sailors sensed land and so they explored and discovered the water to be about 120 ft. deep. Within just a short bit of time, they took another reading, this time, the water was only about 90 ft. deep. In fear for their lives, in fear that they would be cast upon the rocks and they would all fall to their deaths, the men threw overboard 4 anchors and prayed for day to come. Some of the men were so taken by fear that they went to the lifeboat, dropping it over the boat, pretending that they were dropping yet another anchor. Paul warned them that if they did not stay on board the ship they would all be lost to sea, and so the order was given, the ropes of the lifeboat cut, and the lifeboat, their only means of escape, fell into the sea.
Just before dawn, Paul urged the men to eat, they had not eaten for days, too worried about the storm and their coming deaths. In suspense and worry they had gone without food. 'Now eat,' Paul urged, 'you need to survive, no one will loose their life, not a single hair on your heads will be lost.' Then Paul took bread, gave thanks to God and ate, the men found comfort in his words and ate as well. Two hundred seventy six men in all ate, and when they had satisfied their hunger, they through the grain on their ship overboard as well.
When day broke, the men did not recognize the land or the bay with the sandy beach. None the less, they cut anchor, untied the rudder, hoisted sail and made for land. The ship struck a sandbar and the stern broke. The soldiers were worried about the prisoners escaping and wanted to kill the prisoners, but Julius refused to allow the men to be killed. He then ordered all who could swim to swim to shore and everyone who could not swim, took planks or other parts of the ship and made their way to the small island. Two hundred seventy six men in all arrived safely on the shore of the little island.
Sometimes we read a story time and time again, but it isn't until we focus in on a single word that we realize a truth that had remained hidden behind the details. In this story, the men were afraid, they feared falling to their death. Sometimes in the storms of life, we grow afraid, the fear is of some form of death, death of the flesh, emotions, something we cherish, job, family, etc. But like the men that set sail that day with Paul, we allow the waves crashing around us to cause us to fear that we too will fall to our death. And like the crew aboard that ship, we hold fast to the lifeboats we have created for ourselves. The safety nets that are our securities in this life. Insurances, Doctors, Medications, cash stuck away just in case I loose my job. My grandparents always put some away in case it was needed for a funeral. We have our lifeboats, our safety nets. But it isn't until we cut the ropes and allow the lifeboats to fall into the sea that we begin to realize that the only stability, the only thing that will not fall away from us is Love. Love is the constant in a world whose waves are driven by hurricane force winds. Love is the stable foundation in a world of shifting sands. Love Never Falls.

Love never fails is really translated, Love never falls, it means that Love will not fall powerless, to fall to the ground, be without effect, Love will never fall in it's divine promise of salvation.
It reminds me of Moses...when he lifted his arms the war was won...Love is the support for our arms, as we face the storms of life. While our arms are lifted up, the battle is being won, but when we drop our arms, when we stop living in the Love that is lavished upon us, the battle is lost and our lives fall apart. We become over come by the waves that are crashing around us.


Love from God to man is a constant that has no end, Love from man to one another is a Love that sustains us to finish the race set before us. We can run the race with God's Love alone, but it isn't till we Love others with the same Love, that our lives become a fragrant aroma to our King.


Drop anchor in our Lord and King, let go of the safety nets you have created for yourself, and rest in the Love that is our constant in a world that is constantly shifting and pitching us, evils that threaten us on every side. Love is our safety net, Love is our salvation, God is Love.



The story of Moses lifting his hands is found in Exodus 17:8-16


Also consider the following passages...


What race are we running and how should we run that race?


Hebrews 12:1-2
I Corinthians 9:24
I Corinthians 9:26
Galatians 2:2
Hebrews 10:36


Is Christ our anchor? Is our safe haven built with hands of Love?


Hebrews 6:19-20
Psalms 62:5
Psalms 27:14
Psalms 37:7
Psalms 62:1
Psalms 130:5


Before we totally leave this study, we should look a bit into the beginning and end of the book and vs. 13 which is a whole different study on it's own, but one with some amazing truths that we can touch on before we leave this study.

By my reckoning, the beginning and ending of I Cor. 13 deserves a study all thier own. In fact, I am planning on a separate study of just vs. 13 in the next few years, after I finish some more of the Love studies I have planned. So let's just hit and miss a few things from these verses.

The first thing we see is the importance of Love. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Mankind tends to go through all of his days, seeking after things that cannot satisfy the hunger in his deepest being. We seek power, wealth, health, attention, lusts, the list goes on and on, but the one thing we all desire above all else, the one thing that can satisfy the unquenchable thirst of our souls, we fail to seek. Consider Proverbs 19:22...What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar....We were created for Love, both to receive and to give.

In the previous study on Love that I did, where I looked at the expressions of Love God uses to show Himself to us, one thing that stood out, was that Love is the greatest power known to man. (Please keep in mind, before trying to split hairs, that God is Love) It is Love that has the power to save us from our sins, bring us the inheritance of children of the King. It is Love that can move mountains, Love that transforms lives. Love is the power to free us from the bondage of sin, Love has the power to end our search for things that don't satisfy, to forgive those that don't deserve forgiveness, Love is the greatest power known to man, and yet we seek so many other things in our lives, and only rarely really seek a lasting Love. In fact, our society tells us that lasting Love is a fairytale, and if by chance you do find something resembling it, it is by chance, not by divine appointment from the source of that Love. Love is real...Love is freely given to all...Love will set you free from whatever bondage you are facing this very day.

Then, we come to these beautiful word pictures of who we are in relationship to Love...But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

The depiction of Love in I Cor. 13 is a tall order to fill, in fact, it is bigger than any of us is capable of filling, especially every moment of every day, but, when we look at verses 8b-12, we begin to realize that when we fail, it is normal, we are like children, learning the things of God. Now by all means, this does not mean that we should stop striving to live in Love, but rather, it means that we should strive to live in Love, just like a child strives to grow up and imitate his heroes. A child is constantly learning, growing, striving to grow up, to become mature, as should we when we are talking about our spiritual lives. It is very difficult for a mature adult to understand that they must start out like babies again. You may be mature, an adult, but when you give your life to Christ, you start out as a baby once again, learning to walk before you can run. Eating milk, before you can eat a steak. We are to grow in Love, not expect ourselves to already be mature, and when we are face to face, with our Lord, we will know the treasure of a mature faith.

That brings us to verse 13... 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I'm not sure we will fully understand the significance of this passage this side of heaven, but let me share with you one of the most amazing things I learned about Love. It happened when our son died, June 2010. The day still brings tears to my eyes, oh how we miss him. But we miss him because we Loved him so very dearly. You see, Love is something he brought into this world with him, and Love is the one thing he was able to take into eternity with him. In our heavenly home, we will know that Gods' faithfulness was an absolute, it doesn't change His faithfulness, but it no longer can be a question in our minds. Likewise, hope, in things fulfilled is not hope at all. Hope is no longer needed, because in heaven we will have already obtained the things we had hoped for. But Love, is the same Love, Love doesn't change, it may manifest itself differently, but Love is the same constant in heaven as it is in our lives today. Love is the one thing, you are born with, that you also take with you in death. So, if Love is the greatest power known to man, and is the one thing you take with you when you die, it then, must be the greatest thing we can know, the greatest thing we can build as we live our lives, running the race, maturing into the men and women of faith that we are called to be.