Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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Love by definition has many components, without any of them, love is missing. This is evident by the seven exclusive definitions for love mentioned above. Love does not insist on its own schedule and time constraints, and rue love is not easily shaken, or only works when it is convenient. Jesus tells us here that our greatest command is to love. God gives us the ability to love when we are born again, the Holy Spirit fills our heart with the love of God so that we can show His love to others. What is it about true love that touches every heart? Why does the simple phrase "I love you" evoke such universal joy? Why is it that some spend a lifetime pursuing love? You see, love was the grand principle which prompted the almighty God to give His Son to die for sinners. How great, how sublime was the love that a perishing world! God's love fills the immensity of space; therefore, there is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it. To do this, Jesus explained "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27). Responding to true love is part of our very being because we are children of God and Love is God's attribute, which he delights to manifest openly; and love was the motive that brought Emmanuel from his throne, to this dying world, in order to save the lost. We live in God's love. No one can deny it. Yes, we might go through hard times, but in the end we all will be accountable on how we responded to God's daily care for our lives.
God's love is persistent, ever-present, and very powerful. Our lives are transformed by the presence of love. All true love originates from God. Christians are to receive and replicate this love in their lives so people can know of God's love. When filled with God's love, we can understand things that we could not otherwise understand. The wonderful thing is that the more we know God’s attribute, the more we are going to obey His command to love "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 Matthew 22:37). Friend, love starts with God. One of favorite preachers once said that “Trying to find lasting love without obeying God is like trying to quench thirst by drinking from an empty cup you can go through the motions, but the thirst remains”. We often miss out on this comprehensive picture of God's love because we are searching for it at all the wrong places while taking God’s love for granted.
Friend, love is a big theme in our society. There are countless websites claiming to be able to help you find love. It is really quite interesting because each one of them is loaded with thousands of profiles. People are desperately looking for love. Have you ever had an opportunity to read some of these profiles? People are searching for perfection. (disease free, thin, smart, beautiful, tall, rich or have a great job, good communicator with no relationship baggage, ect.). But God wants you as you are: Sick, Imperfect, broken, hurt, full of baggage, loss, confused, rejected. No need to change to find His love because His kind of love will enrich and transform. Glory! There are times in our lives when those who claim to love us refuse to talk to us and ask for space but my dear friend, there are no periods with God's love. God's love does not stop with the sunset or begin with the new week. God love never takes a break. Divine love will always continue throughout time and eternity. In the darkest of nights, there will always be the eternal light of God's love. Glory to God! All you have to do is submit to love by allowing Christ to reside in your heart. He will never leave you. His promise to be with you through your valleys and mountain tops is true. You can count on His great love.
Praise the Lord!
