Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Cor 13:4-8)We know that text as the most comprehensive description of the properties of love found in the Bible. We can glean stuff here and there, but this one is clear and concise, yet complete and to the point. It's stuff we can all understand.
Now, stop me if you've heard this.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)Sure, you've heard that one, too. But I'm wondering. What would it look like if our general interactions and relations with fellow believers (John 13:35) looked like the biblical description of love (1 Cor 13:4-8)? How would we relate differently to the Christians in our sphere of influence if we were relating to them like that?
Let me ask it this way. Do you believe that your relationships with your fellow believers look like God's description of love? Are we even trying? I suspect that some of us aren't so good at that. It's something that I'm looking at for myself. Maybe you might, too.
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