1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter, but did you realize that Paul was talking about you in there?
If you take the word “love” and change it to your name, you’ll see that it could describe you, if you want it to.
Let’s look at verses 4 through 7: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (NIV)
Now, insert your name in place of the word love and every pronoun that replaces it. I’ll make it easy for you and give you all the blanks. Try reading it out loud, inserting your first name. You’ll be amazed at what you think and feel!
__________ is patient, __________ is kind. __________ does not envy, __________ does not boast, __________ is not proud. __________ does not dishonor others, __________ is not self-seeking, _________ is not easily angered, __________ keeps no record of wrongs. __________ does not delight in evil but __________ rejoices with the truth. __________ always protects, __________ always trusts, __________ always hopes, __________ always perseveres.
How did you do? Does this describe you? Could it?
I’d like to say that every sentence describes me, but to be honest, I’m not always patient or kind. And envy is ever-present. There’s a lot I wish I had, such as a new two-seater convertible or thin hips like that lady at the grocery store.
As far as keeping no record of wrongs, I knew a lady who was the polar opposite. She was the world’s worst housekeeper and had a notebook in which she wrote down every time someone wronged her. So when her kids pooled their resources to send her and her husband on a cruise, her daughter spent that week cleaning the house. And when she found her mom’s notebook, she decided Mom didn’t need those constant reminders of being offended, so she threw the notebook away.
When the couple got back from their cruise, Mom was thrilled at her clean house. That is, until she discovered her notebook was missing. So she got a new notebook and the first entry was, “My daughter threw away my notebook.” Talk about keeping a literal record of wrongs!
Just because we’ve always been one way doesn’t mean we have to stay that way. We can strive to be just like the description of love, giving us something to look forward to and work toward.
I know I’m never going to be perfect in this world, but I can try to be loving.
How about you?
