Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.
Into the Text
We use the word love a lot.
We love our families. We love our friends. We love our favorite coffee shop in town and the way the air feels crisp in October. But if we are honest, most of us would admit that the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 looks very different from the love we live out in our daily lives.
It is important to understand that Paul doesn’t describe love as a feeling here. He describes it as an action and a way of living. Love put into action is patient when patience is the last thing we feel. Love is kind when kindness costs us something, and we choose to love anyway. Love doesn’t envy, even when someone else gets what we wanted. Love doesn’t boast, even when we have every reason to. Love isn’t easily angered, even when we have every right to be.
Remember that love put into action is not something we can manufacture on our own. Love comes from God first and foremost. It is supernatural. In order for us to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, we must stay connected to Jesus. Loving others well is not a checklist to work through. It is a picture of what Christ’s love living through us actually looks like.
Sweet friend, it is important for you to know that God is not asking you to love people perfectly in your own strength. He is asking you to stay close to Him so that His love can flow through you naturally, the way fruit grows naturally through a healthy vine.
The more time we spend with Jesus, the more we begin to look like Jesus. His patience becomes our patience. His kindness becomes our kindness. His love becomes our love.
Want to be more loving? Make sure you stay connected to the source of love, Jesus.