I know what this means more today than ever before.
1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I have experienced every aspect of these scripture to some small or large extent. When I look back I see that I’ve cried more tears in my lifetime for me than for others…then God. He showed me His love when I was vulnerable, feeling sorry for me and when it seemed everyone was against me. Then He moved me passed me and into where He is and began showing me the love for someone in the middle of despair and my heart felt it. He showed me love for the one who doesn’t need God and I felt the emptiness. He showed me love for those who know much but lack it all and I hurt.
But with all those emotions it was love that drove all of them. I mean how can you not have those deep emotions for another if it isn’t from His love for them? How can you love the one that doesn’t have your best interest? How can you love the one you haven’t even really met? How can you love the one that has left behind collateral damage…you in the midst of the rubble and still cry for them? How can you be praying over them everyday when they don’t even know and they assume you don’t care because you are not showing as the world. But His Kingdom is the place to bring and change the situation at the heart of the Father. So I weep just as much as I did before and the tears are of love for the young girls who know not their ways and the world will quickly defined them. But they are not how He sees them and my tears flow with love for them as I try and show them Him. I cry tears for the hurting…and oh so many hurting. They believe they have it all together but still living in the world or they are so into all the right from the wrongs that they lead others along with them thinking they are saving the world never realizing the world has found a way to use them by their responses being no different than the world.
Oh how my heart loves…
4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Oh how His love is strong…not weak, never weak. Love stands strong against acting unbecomingly, loves boldly not seeking own, provoking, taking into account wrong suffering. Love stands firm in unrighteousness and rejoices when truth is found.
Oh how my heart is full of love….and when it is stretched and at times strained and when it hits and being real, my flesh love tries to step in. It is most of the time a complete and utter disaster. But a very much reminder how I need Him.
Be Blessed, Speak Life and against all Hope, in Hope, Believe. Believing that don’t get caught up in it all, because if there is no love driving it…it profit nothing.