Love: More than just a feeling

In the Bible, we are told that God is Love (1 John 4:7) and that if we love then we know God. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, our passage for today,  breaks it down into a list for us: 

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  (1 Corinthians 13:4)

The first thing that this verse tells us about love is that it is a choice. Notice that in this definition, love is completely defined by verbs. Love is a verb; a doing word, which speaks to the fact that more than just a feeling, love is an action that we choose to make. 

Rather than just going with our emotions, love can actually sometimes mean fighting or resisting them. For example, love is patient. Being patient isn’t something which we’d ever choose to do naturally. You’d never wake up in the morning thinking that you want someone to irritate you so you can practice being patient. It’s the same with kindness, the same when it comes to not being easily angered and the same when it comes to keeping no record of wrongs. So rather than just being something which you feel, love is a choice and a decision we make in the moment and a decision to behave or say something different to what we might do by natural instinct.   It means being selfless, and that involves an element of sacrifice.  

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank you for the love that you have given and shown me. I thank you for surrounding me with your love daily and for the opportunities you give me to grow in love. In Jesus Name, Amen.