# 49, 2015 Dev. I Cor. 13:4-7. The purpose of our devotionals is to grow nearer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and to grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
I Corinthians 13:4-7
“Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
I Cor. 13 is one of those chapters that encourages us and at the same time addresses what is important in our lives and in the lives of every person in the world but is often missing. The world today is as if “love has grown cold” (Mt. 24:9-14). Paul begins with the priority of love. We may have many gifts, we may have much faith, or great insight into God’s Word and many other virtues but whatever we do if we do not love it is all in vain. Love is action, a way of being that overflows into all our relationships, our conversations, and dictates our very lives.
There are other kinds of love: lust that attempts to imitate love, self love that excludes others, the love of money and of power but that kind of love has no place in Paul’s letter. The love that Paul describes is the reflection of Jesus Himself (Eph.4:18-19). There is power in Christs’ love and the “fullness of God”!
We turn to the passages we are memorizing. We begin with Pauls’ description of actions that love does not do: there is no envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, selfishness, quick anger, it does not remember wrongs, and does not delight in evil. That alone eliminates all other emotions passed off as love. The rest of Paul’s description is positive action: “Love is patient and love is kind, love rejoices in the truth, It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Paul’s description reminds us of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5: 22-23). These passages compliment each other. I take the liberty to add v.8a “Love never fails” because it ties these passages together. The Love of Jesus always wins, the Spirit always bears fruit. That is the love that Paul describes, and it is the love we all practice by God’s grace. Praise be to God!
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