Long Love
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I Corinthians 13:4, 7 NKJV
By all standards, the dominant characteristic of love is long suffering. Of course, a clear imitation of love is lust; which is clearly averse to even a little suffering. Little wonder God’s version of love is all about sacrifice, because God is love. He loves the world and He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as the ransom for our sins. Therefore, the callout on all believers, who are the products of God’s love, is appropriate. If I am also love or sacrifice as God, do I suffer long and am I kind? Am I free from envy, parading of myself, and puffing up of myself? Do I believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things, especially in view of their conspiracies against the pursuit of a clearly revealed counsel of God? Even when the stretch of our little love fall short of the revealed scriptural characteristics of the long love, we can always stop and cry out “Lord, let your love shine through me in the night”.
Comments
Post a Comment