Edited by Kay Beam
This post was prompted by a request
that I received from a family member. She asked me to do a post on the passage
noted above because she has a lot of people in her life dealing with the topic
of the verses.
Please read the passage below from the
Message translation of the Bible:
“So,
no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love
never gives up.
Love
cares more for others than for self.
Love
doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love
doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t
have a swelled head,
Doesn’t
force itself on others,
Isn’t
always “me first,”
Doesn’t
fly off the handle,
Doesn’t
keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t
revel when others grovel,
Takes
pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts
up with anything,
Trusts
God always,
Always
looks for the best,
Never
looks back,
But
keeps going to the end.
Love
never dies.”
(I Corinthians 13:4-8, the Message)
Love. There is a problem with love.
Back in 2003, the Black Eyed Peas asked
“Where is the Love?” It was a good question then and it is still a relevant
question today. In fact, I feel it to be more of a question that people ask now
more than ever before. Throughout the song (a link to the lyrics is below) they
pose different scenarios and ask the question; “Where is the Love?”
So I have to say that when we look at
the actions of people in this world and the different things that break our
hearts, we ask the same question; Where is the Love? There is fighting, war,
murder, and other threats all over the news and in the media. We don’t have to
look very far to find that this world is lacking love. That is the one thing
that I’m sure we all can agree on. So, where is the love? How does this change?
What can we do? Well, the answer is found in the song:
“Father,
Father, Father help us
Send
some guidance from above
'Cause
people got me, got me questionin'
Where
is the love (Love)” – lyrcis from “Where is the Love?”
In this song the last part of the
chorus (that you just read) has the answer. We can see the guidance from above
in the passage of Scripture that we read earlier. I see those words as a list
of how to love and how love should look. Love should consist of those things.
Those things are love. Jesus demonstrated all of those things throughout His
time on the earth. Jesus loved the people who needed loved in a way that
transcends all kinds of love. That same love is the love that Paul is writing
about here in 1 Corinthians. In fact, he says the words “I’m bankrupt without
love.” So, what should we do?
Love.
We should love.
If we can love the best that we can,
the world will take notice. If we can love in the relationships that are going
sour, when it seems like the love is gone and we have nothing left. If we can
love even though the actions of the world display the opposite. If we can love
that bully that won’t leave us alone. If we can love when it hurts. If we can
love when it feels like it doesn’t matter. Then love will start to ripple through
the world. The Bible tells us in this passage how to love and even though this
is the Bible, I believe that many people can agree with the words that are
there.
What the world needs is love. Love has
to start somewhere.
Jesus tell us; “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)
God is love. God’s love is unconditional.
God’s love is for everyone. If you have any questions about the love of God,
send me an email using the box to the right.