Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV)
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV)
When Paul writes of love here in 1 Corinthians 13, he speaks of agape love; a love that loves unconditionally and without changing. Agape love is a sacrificial love, a giving love that has little to do with one’s feelings or emotions; but much to do with action, the action of self-denial for the sake of another.
Love suffers long; love is patient. As I read the words, “Love suffers long,” I am struck by the word suffers. When viewed through the lens of the self-denial of agape love, you get a clearer picture of what Paul is saying here. Agape love is not about our comfort, feeling all warm and fuzzy, etc. Agape love willingly and patiently endures difficult, even annoying people, people who may have been cruel to you and hurt you; denying self not for your own sake, but for the sake of the other person.
I can remember quite vividly how people in my childhood church, myself included, would go out of their way to avoid speaking to a certain couple I will call Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot loved the Lord and their joy for the Lord was apparent in the way they lived their lives and the love they poured out on the community. However, Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot would always seem to catch you when you were in a hurry and if you had the misfortune of getting “caught” by Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot, you can be certain that you were going to be late to your next engagement. After being “caught” one or two times by Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot, I found myself trying to make it to the exit as quickly as possible, trying desperately to avoid eye contact, even when I had nowhere to go or be. I may not have known what I was doing after church, but I knew that I did not want to be “stuck” chatting with Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot.
We all have people that annoy us, people that get under our skin or push our buttons; people that may say or do things that are hurtful. You know the people I am talking about, the ones that cause you to cringe when you see them walking toward you; the ones you spot in the grocery store and then duck for cover or head in the other direction, hoping they didn’t see you. Yes, we all have people like that in our lives, people we would probably prefer not to even think about. But, is this love? Is this the agape love that Jesus spoke of in John 15:12 when He said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”? No, the love that Jesus spoke of in John 15:12 and the love that Paul speaks of here in 1 Corinthians 13 is a love that willingly denies self and patiently suffers for the sake of another. But how can we get this agape love that is long suffering, where does it come from? Speaking as one who has been very selfish and known to have a short fuse most of her life, I can honestly say that if I am able to show even an ounce of patience and agape love to another, it is not by my own strength or will; but by the grace of God! This agape love that is long suffering does not come from within, it does not come from self; it comes only from the Lord.
Love suffers long; love is patient. As I read the words, “Love suffers long,” I am struck by the word suffers. When viewed through the lens of the self-denial of agape love, you get a clearer picture of what Paul is saying here. Agape love is not about our comfort, feeling all warm and fuzzy, etc. Agape love willingly and patiently endures difficult, even annoying people, people who may have been cruel to you and hurt you; denying self not for your own sake, but for the sake of the other person.
I can remember quite vividly how people in my childhood church, myself included, would go out of their way to avoid speaking to a certain couple I will call Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot loved the Lord and their joy for the Lord was apparent in the way they lived their lives and the love they poured out on the community. However, Mr. and Mrs. Talkalot would always seem to catch you when you were in a hurry and if you had the misfortune of getting “caught” by Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot, you can be certain that you were going to be late to your next engagement. After being “caught” one or two times by Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot, I found myself trying to make it to the exit as quickly as possible, trying desperately to avoid eye contact, even when I had nowhere to go or be. I may not have known what I was doing after church, but I knew that I did not want to be “stuck” chatting with Mr. or Mrs. Talkalot.
We all have people that annoy us, people that get under our skin or push our buttons; people that may say or do things that are hurtful. You know the people I am talking about, the ones that cause you to cringe when you see them walking toward you; the ones you spot in the grocery store and then duck for cover or head in the other direction, hoping they didn’t see you. Yes, we all have people like that in our lives, people we would probably prefer not to even think about. But, is this love? Is this the agape love that Jesus spoke of in John 15:12 when He said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”? No, the love that Jesus spoke of in John 15:12 and the love that Paul speaks of here in 1 Corinthians 13 is a love that willingly denies self and patiently suffers for the sake of another. But how can we get this agape love that is long suffering, where does it come from? Speaking as one who has been very selfish and known to have a short fuse most of her life, I can honestly say that if I am able to show even an ounce of patience and agape love to another, it is not by my own strength or will; but by the grace of God! This agape love that is long suffering does not come from within, it does not come from self; it comes only from the Lord.
COACH'S CALL TO ACTION
- Who do you try to avoid? Who gets under your skin?
- How have you failed to show love (agape love) to each of these people?
- Pray and ask the Lord to help you to love each of these people as He loves them; to be willing to suffer and give up your life for each of them.
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