1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not
have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I
have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my
body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it
is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they
will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in
part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part
disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of
childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a
mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But
the greatest of these is love.
Happy Valentine's Day - I am currently flying solo, not crazy about
the situation but it is what it is; the blessing in my situation is that I am
living and loving the word of God. Since it is Valentine's Day I wanted to look at the thing we
call love as opposed to what God says love is
Proverbs 18:22 “He
who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from
the Lord.”
If you’re like me, then you are a person who knows that God
has ordained a helpmate and a partner for you;
and every time you delve into
a Bible verse, you get a new revelation
out of it, no matter how many times you read it. I discovered the French
version of this verse and embraced it because it really spoke to how I viewed
the verse ; it says that whoever finds a wife, finds HAPPINESS; As an
added bonus, you gain favor from the Lord. Hey! that's just like gravy on a
rich meal.
Guess what, while
letting that verse wash over me I was also doing a bit of soul-searching, the verse completely shattered
my belief that I could remain who I was; repeating behaviors and being static
in my ways....stuck in "love me as who I am"
I started asking myself what should my behavior be like in a Godly
relationship. I had to be radically transformed in my thoughts and behavior, which is not easy without the help
of the Holy Spirit. At times I felt like I was destroying the very core
of my being and that I wasn't going to make it. In task of discovering what is my role as a Godly partner
in a relationship, I've found one thing
to be extremely essential and an absolute requirement: LOVE YOUR
SIGNIFICANT OTHER.
Ephesians 5:25 ”
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her ”
