I Corinthians 13 is my favorite chapter of the Bible-- it's called the love chapter. God has directed my attention to it many times throughout my life, but last year He especially reminded me (I'll have to keep that story between God and me for now) of how important the quality of love is. He tells me it should become the most important element of my character. It's the one I will die with, the one that will claim me in His Kingdom, and the one I will leave behind for others to remember. It is the "me" that will last forever.
God is Love, so love is the indispensable component of becoming like Him. It's a difficult lesson for we humans to learn, but nevertheless, He tells me to make it my primary goal -- above all others.
The chapter goes like this:
1: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
2: And if I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3: And if I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4: Love suffereth long, [and] is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5: doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
8: Love never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall be done away; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall be done away.
9: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10: but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
11: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.
12: For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.
Wishing you LOVE.
22 comments:
What a wonderful read for my morning! Also love that song playing:)) Love carries us through everything, doesn't it?
One simple word. Does any other word carry more meaning?
Beautiful post! I NEED lots of love right now!
Such truth. (Although given it's Scripture, I wouldn't expect anything else.)
Thanks for sharing this lesson. If we could all shift our thinking to mirror this, we'd be in a much better place.
Outside of the gospels, this is my favorite chapter. Its all about LOVE. All about love.
It has been forever since I picked up a Bible - but, what poetry, what cadence, what beauty in those words.
Terri- Love nourishes and helps us grow into our better selves.
Joanne- Yes, so much is encompassed in that element of life.
Support Blog- I'm wishing you lots of love today...both given and received.
Janna- The world would be so different if mankind had learned this lesson. But don't we all learn "the hard way"? It's sad.
Heather- GOD = LOVE. That says it all, doesn't it?
Kathryn- I was told once by a non-Christian teacher that the Bible was the most beautiful book ever written.
What a beautiful post~thank you!
Barbara - what a beautiful post today. Those are the scriptures used at our 50th anniversary celebration a year ago.
Rose Mary- I'm so glad you liked it.
Lea- What a beautiful celebration that must have been!!! So glad you related like that to this post.
Patrick Swayze said in his interview the other night--that the last lines in Ghost are meaningful to him now--the one thing you get to take with you in the afterlife is love. It makes sense.
Lately every time I read scripture it speaks of love. I can't seem to escape it, even on the internet.
I want to give you something that speaks to me just as dearly as those verses. I hope that they mean the same to you, even though they are not from the Bible... <3
Moroni 7
45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;...
I hope I haven't offended you by leaving that. I just wanted to share. =]
Linda- His statement is so profound. I think he has arrived at a place of spiritual "knowing"...
PolarBeccaBear- No, I am not offended at all. I feel honored that you would share something that means so much to you. It is beautiful. We all share in God's love and in our love for one another. Blessings.
When this post scrolled into my sight, it resulted in what may be the longest comment on record - I agree with the fact that unconditional love is the greatest power and force for good that we have in this world. But I have issues with no.11. as I believe a childish innocence is no bad quality to carry on to adulthood. Here's what I wrote many years ago:-
'Never may I loose all my childish ways-
a God given gift bestowed on few;
ever to see with the eyes of a child,
is to see the world for ever new.'
I think what I was trying to get at, a child sees with no preconceived idea of what is before it; there is no judgment, no expectation, just acceptance and possibly an opportunity for change as a result.
My favourite concept in the bible?
'In my Father's house are many mansions'. I interpret this to mean all faiths and religions are part of one great universal, homogeonous whole, a force for good - and here we are, back to 'Love'again.
jinksy- Thanks so much for sharing your views. And I love your poem. I'm going to keep it.
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