Last week we reviewed many scriptures about love and what constituted God’s definition of love. This week, I would like to take a look at what the different aspects of love look like in real life. This post is mostly my opinions based on observations from my life.
Love is patient – dictionary.com defines patient as: "bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like". Using this definition, think about all the instances where you have been empowered to be patient. Those are God moments in your life. Rejoice in those moments and look for other opportunities to be patient. As you practice patience, you will become stronger in that attribute.
Love is kind – To me this means to do something nice for someone or to someone without expecting anything in return. This might be as simple as listening when someone needs to talk or smiling at a person who seems to need some gentleness and encouragement, or it may be more involved. Look for opportunities. The more you look, the more you will find, and as you practice kindness, you will be a blessing to others and you will find that you are blessed in return.
Love does not envy – American Heritage dictionary describes envy as: "A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another". Do you ever feel a tinge of resentment when someone else gets a compliment, or a promotion, or even just something positive happening to them, especially when you are having a hard time? I remember when I was a teenager, if I would go to a party and someone would compliment a friend's dress, I would think, "Well, what's wrong with my dress?" I wouldn't say anything, but my heart's attitude was not right. When we can love like God does, we can get to the point where we can just be happy for that other person. Check your heart’s attitude. If you need help, ask God and He will help you.
Love does not boast – We often believe that we need to promote ourselves, but in 1 Peter 5:5-6, Scripture encourages us to be humble so that God can raise us up in His perfect timing. “5 ... All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[a] 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (NIV). That doesn’t mean that we hide in the background. To me, it means that as we do our work as unto the Lord, He will bring the promotion/increase. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. If you see yourself as working for God, you will always do your best.
Love is not proud – I struggled with that for a long time. Still working on it. Do you believe that you can be successful in your own strength and abilities? I did. The problem is that when you believe in only yourself, you are not leaning on the Lord to help you. When you try to do everything yourself, you can achieve some degree of success along with other feelings such as anger, frustration, and burn-out. In contrast, when you work with the Lord, you achieve some degree of success along with other feelings such as joy, peace, faith. As for me, I cherish working with and for the Lord.
Love is not rude – In my mind, to be rude is to be deliberately unkind, insulting, or impolite. Since love is not rude, we can be working in the opposite direction and work on purposefully being kind and considerate.
Love is not self-seeking - When you love like God loves, you want the best for others rather than wanting only what is best for you. When you seek the best for others, God will help provide you with what is best for you.
Next week, in our final post on this topic, we will continue examining God’s love in action.
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