Love!

Love!

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 1 Corinthians 13:7 AMPC

Background:

Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, took time to teach the young Christians about different spiritual concepts, and one of them is love. It must be pointed out that all of the spiritual concepts in the bible have their earthly equivalents. The devil will try to replicate anything that God establishes, and he will so lower the standard so that just about anyone at all can come in. As we now know, there is a multi-billion currency industry around the concept of love, with movies, books and ideas built around the concept, yet not too many have been able to fully capture the idea of the original concept-owner to date. Of course, how would anyone without a very personal encounter with the original owner understand and be able to replicate the original concept? You cannot give what you don't have, and this is a relationship that you can't fake. You either have Him or you don't. 

Focus:

Did you read the reference to a person in the previous sentence? Yes, love is first a person, and it is the knowledge and experience of that person that helps one to understand and also express love. It is not the dramatic emptiness in movies and books, but the deep and lovely experience that the presence of God can birth and sustain in you. How would anyone be able to let go of hurt and pain if there is no greater experience which helps lessen the pain? You need that higher and greater experience to help you know what is really important. I cannot spend precious time worrying about how people treat me, because the focus is never on what other people do, but on who I am and what I can give. Each person gives what s/he has, and the presence of God in me helps keep me focused on God. As He lives in me, the proof of His presence becomes apparent. What flows out of me when the pressure comes?

Conclusion:

I am able to bear up under anything and everything that comes because of the One who lives in me. The One in me first believed in me even before I came to know and love Him, and it is the same way He wants me to relate with other people. It was what I first received, and the presence of God in me helps me flow out with the same mercy. I love this way because God first loved me the same way. The fake version wants to receive without giving, and that is why we have so many selfish, self-centered people everywhere. Love never gives up on anyone, no matter how dire the situation, just as God did not give up on me. Love will keep enduring to the end, in the hope that it can break down the barriers and obstacles and reach the heart of the target. That is love: selfless and committed to the end. What version do I have? God's time of favour is here.