1 Corinthians 13:4-10
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
In the movie Jerry McGuire, Jerry (played by Tom Cruise) tells Dorothy (portrayed by Renee Zellweger)… “You complete me.” The truth is… no matter how much we love someone, we can never complete them. The only One who can complete us is God Almighty! When Jesus returns for us and all mysteries and wonders are revealed… when we finally have all the answers… we will be complete in Him.
Meanwhile, we must work toward the moment when we are reunited with Christ by striving to operate in His love each and every day. And the first seven verses of this passage tell us exactly how to do this. Read over them several times – carefully. Examine how you are doing in your quest to operate in the love of Jesus.
The verse that really gets me is – “put up with anything!” Does this truly describe your behavior? The King James Version translates this verse as “endureth all things.” The Apostle Paul is not telling us to tolerate injustice, cruelty, immorality or anything illegal. What he is saying is that we must trust God to get help us cope with these things… and we must continue operate in His love toward the offender – even as we seek justice or mete out consequences. This is hard. We are wired to seek revenge… and the devil works diligently to remind us of how good this would feel… and how “entitled” we are to do so!
In truth, the love of Christ is all we need. When we operate in His love, Jesus handles the rest. His blood was poured out on the cross for us and covers our sins… and His blood can also cover “the other guy.” We must pray for this… we must love others so that they will desire redemption through the unending love of Jesus. We must not fly off the handle, strut our stuff, or keep score. We must trust God, always look for the best, and never give up!
I am excited about the day when I become truly complete. But I know that I have a lot to do beforehand… and so do you. We are works in progress! I learn more about operating in the love of Christ each and every day… and I pray that the same is happening in your life. Where are you lacking today? What characteristics of operating in Christ’s love elude you? Will this be the day you start to work on them?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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