For the last
week, I’ve been writing about the characteristics of love according to 1
Corinthians 13: 4-8. Love should be the most important item in our lives as
believers. Our witness to the world is tied directly to our love walk. Our
spiritual growth is tied directly to our love walk. Our effectiveness in the
kingdom of God is motivated by our love walk. Our authority over the demonic is
rooted in our love walk. Take your love walk seriously. It determines your
success in spiritual things.
The
following is a compilation of several translations of the characteristics of
love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. I encourage you to copy this and keep it
with you. Meditate on it regularly and your lifestyle will change!
Let me describe love. It is slow to lose
patience; love stays in difficult relationships with kindness, and it always
looks for ways to be constructive. There is no envy in love. It is not
possessive and never boils over with jealousy. Love makes no parade of itself; it
never boasts, nor does it puff up with pride. Love is never arrogant and never
puts itself on display, because it is neither anxious to impress, nor does it
cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love never gets irritated and is
never resentful. Love holds no grudges, and it keeps no record of evil done to
it. Love refuses to be provoked and never harbors evil thoughts. Love is not
rude or grasping or overly sensitive, nor does love search for imperfections
and faults in others. Love does not compile statistics of evil or gloat over
the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men
when truth prevails. Love celebrates what is real and not what is perverse or
incomplete. Love never does the graceless thing. Love has good manners and does
not pursue selfish advantage. Love never insists on its own rights, never
irritably loses its temper, and never nurses its wrath to keep it warm. Love is
not touchy. Love can stand any kind of treatment because there are no limits to
its endurance, no end to its trust. Love bears up under anything; it perseveres
in all circumstances. Love’s first instinct is to believe in people. If you
love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always
believe in him, always expect the best in him, and always stand your ground in
defending him. Love never regards anyone or anything as hopeless. Love keeps up
hope in everything. Love’s hope never fades. Love keeps on keeping on! It
trusts in God in every situation and expects God to act in all circumstances.
Love goes on forever. Nothing can destroy love. Nothing can happen that can
break love’s spirit. In fact, it is the one thing that still stands when all
else has fallen.
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