Love
Updated: Sep 13
My daughter Jade, you need to know that God is love. I could not truly love
you without the love of God. God's love is unlike anything you will ever experience. My favorite chapter of the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13, as it teaches you what love is (and is not) and how to recognize it.
We'll start with some important scriptures from that chapter:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)
[4] Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; [5] does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; [6] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; [7] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Let's look at what those verses say about love.
Love suffers long - Other versions of the Bible say that love is patient. That means that suffering and patience go hand in hand. Why would you have to suffer for love. That is because the fruit of love takes time to develop. I would say that when I was pregnant with you for 9+ months, I developed a love for you through suffering and waiting patiently (and sometimes impatiently) for you to arrive. A pregnancy can be tough; a surge of hormones can cause nausea and vomiting, extreme exhaustion, weight gain, and a host of other symptoms that my body was not used to. But in the process of waiting, I developed a relationship with you, and when you were born, I realized that all the waiting and suffering was worth it to see your beautiful face. And I saw that the love I developed for you during that time was the same as the love that God has for all of us who develop a relationship with Him. If you can get through the difficult times, at the end of that particular season (because there will be an end), you will see how God can take what was bad and work it out for your good and make it a miracle. The famous verse from Romans notates that:
Romans 8:28 [NKJV]
[28] And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Your existence is the miracle, and I hope that as you grow if you have to suffer through anything, God is going to turn it around for your good. That is a promise.
Love is kind - The first great commandment according to Jesus is to love God with all your heart and soul, but the second is to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). And since you have just been born, my job as you grow older is to teach you how to live out these two commandments. If you can be kind to yourself by giving your self grace when making mistakes, you can learn to love yourself. Being kind to yourself is the first step in truly learning how to be kind to others. You will learn that you cannot love your neighbor if you do not love God, and if you love God, you will learn to ask for forgiveness when you make mistakes. And in time, you will learn to love yourself despite your human nature. Kindness will come naturally as a result.
Does not parade itself, is not puffed up - Jade, you will learn that pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18), which means if you have made yourself a god instead of keeping your humility before the Lord, life will humble you. If God is love (1 John 4:8), then a person that does not honor God does not know of love either. I can promise you, the pride of life will cause a stumble and fall so devastating that you may not want to get back up. I have been then there. But that's when God's love will save you: when you feel you are at your weakest and you turn to Him. His love will nurture you and build you back up so strong, yet will teach you a humility and an empathy for others that a prideful soul could never understand. Love and pride do not mix.
Does not behave rudely, does not seek its own - There is no reason to be mean to someone, either in word or in deed. At least not if you are trying to foster love. Love is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), as well as kindness and goodness. Therefore, the opposite would be works of the flesh (or bad fruit). Being rude to others epitomizes the work of the flesh, so we should treat others the way we want to be treated. You wouldn't want to be mistreated, would you?
Also, love does not seek its own glory but seeks after the glory of God. And truthfully, that should lead you to have a heart of service. The kingdom of God is backwards in comparison to the kingdom of the world: those that are first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30). Serving the "least" of us glorifies the kingdom of God, and that is love.
Is not provoked, thinks no evil - Provocation has a negative connotation, and to provoke someone to act out in an ungodly manner is evil. Everything we say and do should bring honor to His kingdom. Sometimes when I have been provoked by the people who know me best, I have had to ask God for forgiveness for my subsequent response, knowing that someone pushing my buttons does not give me license to act out in malice. Be careful that you do not cause others to stumble. Love does not lead to evil thoughts, and if you have evil thoughts, you know that it is not love; it is not from God. It is from the enemy.
Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth - Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. You will learn that the truth will set you free, and those in Christ are free indeed. Isn't that a reason to rejoice? What you should not rejoice in is sin, being immoral, or enjoying wrongdoing. That is the opposite of love.
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things - This section of scripture does not mean that we fall for anything, but it does mean that in the name of love we may have to suffer, which is tied to faith. You will learn of a powerful scripture about faith:
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
How does that tie to love? Having faith in a God that you cannot physically see is a powerful form of love. And He will honor that faith in a multitude of ways. Jade, I want you to know that I loved you before I even knew you and knew what I was going to have to endure to bring you into this world and keep you safe. You practice love way before you see the actual desires of your heart come to pass, and that is how it is similar to faith. And we are able to love God and each other because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
So what is love, Jade? Love is a action and a fruit of the Spirit. You will know it when you see it, because the Spirt of God is in you. He loves you, and I love you as well.
