If there is one great longing every man and woman on this planet has, it is TRUE LOVE. In pursuit of this, many have fallen prey to deceptions and disappointments that have left them wounded and hurting. Even as the world celebrates a season called ‘Love’, is this really love? 

If we call ourselves people of love, others should see in us the qualities that Paul states here! Paul in today’s scripture so beautifully expounds the meaning of love; A love that transcends all understanding: A love that we can experience and also share with those around us. Where do we find it? 1 John 4: 8 declares “God is love…” Not an abstract feeling. He is love and He demonstrated His love for us when He sent His only Son to save us! 

Jesus epitomizes every aspect of this love that you and I are yearning for. Let us see how He did it in the context of our passage from Verses 4-6:

• Love suffers long, is kind and never provoked- Though Jesus was reviled he never retaliated (1 Peter 2:23) because he thought of us, never forgetting his Mission – our salvation. All he did in response to their hatred was to offer up a prayer of forgiveness.  Can this be said of us?
   

• Love does not envy, nor parade itself nor is it arrogant- Never once did Jesus brag about his greatness to anyone, nor compete with his cousin John to show His majesty. Rather, he humbled himself to be baptized by him. He even told his disciples to remain silent after they saw His glory when He was transfigured before them.  As ministers in His Kingdom, do we use every opportunity to talk about ourselves and our ministries without lifting Christ? Or are we humble to remain silent and keep working for the King?
   

• Love never behaves rudely- One of the qualities that stand out in Jesus’ life is His tenderness towards the lonely, the outcast and the persistent. Be it the children, the woman with the issue of blood or the blind Bartimaeus, we see His words and Touch of Love that makes them whole. Is this the testimony we would hear from our spouses and children? 
   

• Love never seeks its own- Jesus did not have a selfish agenda of building a name for himself, but He came to lay down His life to make us His own. When we say we love, do others see a selfless, sacrificial love in us? 
   

• Love never keeps a record of wrongs-  In Psalm 130:3&4 the psalmist says “If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness...” Isaiah 38:17 says -God in his love put all our sins behind His back [paraphrased] .But what about us? Every wrong done to us is refreshed, rehearsed and relived!!! It’s time to be visited with this love so we could love others as He loves us. 
   

• Love never rejoices in iniquity but rejoices in the truth – Even if Jesus had to face the anger and hostility of the Pharisees, he still confronted them on their false religion and lack of faith; but He admired the faith of the Canaanite Mother. Are we a voice of truth in our generation? 

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Through his Life and death, Jesus taught us the meaning of True Love. This love never fails; He never fails. (1 Cor.13:7-8) Its only when He dwells in our hearts as Lord and Saviour will we be able to become a testimony of HIS LOVE! 
 

Quote for the Day:

“For we know how dearly God loves us,

because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our

hearts with his love.”  

Romans 5:5

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Listen - 'The Love of God'