We are living in very trying times.
2 Timothy 3:2-4 tells us: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,
not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God;” (NIV)
But in 1 Corinthians 13 – specifically verses 4 through 7 – God gives us a
pretty clear description of what love is. And by finding out what love is, we
ultimately find out what love IS NOT.
Verse 4: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud.”
Verse 5: “It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Verse 6: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
Verse 7: “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.” (NIV)
This is how God intended for us to love.
But we tend to make our own rules in this world, don’t we?
We should get back to God’s rules. We should use 1 Corinthians 13 as a
standard by which we measure how we love. Many will fall short; all the while
thinking their love is unconditional. But the Bible tells us “…the wisdom of
this world is foolishness in God’s sight…” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV)
And in Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us, “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,…As the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.”
So, what we think we’re doing doesn’t compare with what God KNOWS we’re
doing.
If the way you love doesn’t measure up to God’s standards, surrender your
heart to Jesus Christ. Let Him transform you, fix you, and lead you down the
pathway of unconditional love and life everlasting.
To discover what it means to be unconditionally loved, study the Gospel of John and see what our Savior, Jesus Christ, did for us.
Giving God the Glory…
Freefrombondage 