As a Christian, I hear about loving others, and I’ve definitely been no stranger to saying that we need to love others. But what is love, really? Is it what we see in movies or read about in books? Is it what we of when we think about our high school romance? Is it what we think our parents have towards us that keeps them from completely disowning us? Is love that thing that holds to brothers or sisters together even though they have completely different lifestyles?
Thinking about it in those ways, it seems as though we’ll never really know what love is, which leads to another question, if we can’t even really define love, how can we properly show it? As a Christian, it’s easy to say that we show love by showing people Jesus. While that does hold some legitimacy, it just seems cheesy to me, and while I really like eating cheese, I don’t like to hear it. So if you will, let’s take a journey together through what I’ve learned about love.
Now I’m sure most of you have heard this recited at a wedding. “Love is patient, Love is kind…” and so forth, but really have no idea where it comes from. Well, it comes from a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to an ancient church in the city or Corinth. It is in the middle of this letter that Paul gives us a beautiful description of love. If you want to read it, grab a bible and look up 1 Corinthians 13, or click here.
The more I read this, and the more I’ve studied Scripture, the more alive it came to me. As God was teaching me to love people last year, this became a key passage for me, and here’s how I broke it down.
Love is…
- Patient
- Kind
- Slow to Anger
- Keeps no record of Wrong
- Delights in Truth
- Always Protects
- Always Trust
- Always Hopes
- Always Perseveres
- Never Fails
I also came to the conclusion through this passage that the opposite of love is Hate. It looks like this;
Hate is…
- Envious
- Boastful
- Proud
- Selfish
- Easily Angered
- Keeps a vault of wrongs and constantly uses them against us
- Full of half-truths and pure evil
- Will Fail
After looking at these two list, I’ve come to realize what love is. I believe that it helps teach us what love can looks like. Whatever relationships we have; romantic, brotherly, working, or friendly, they all benefit from showing love. Whether its with my wife or a co-worker, showing love in the form of kindness, patience, or trust allows that relationship to grow far more than if I show selfishness, boastfulness, or pride. Love is what makes relationships worth having. Without it, everything we do is pointless.
Later we’ll how to love a little deeper in Scripture, but I want to leave you with this question,
Do you typically show Love or Hate in your relationships?
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