When someone feels like life is over and there is no hope within there are usually many reasons and factors to feeling out of touch with life. today many people are struggling to coup with life. Too often the real reason for the struggles and feelings of hopelessness is the fact that we don’t know enough about Love. Love is more than romance! Love is way more than what we feel for our spouse. Love is alive and part of us and gives us such abilities that the normal everyday person would easy mess the greatness of this powerful character quality that we call LOVE!
Let's read the love chapter in the bible.
1Co 13:1-13
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 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.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
So, what did you think?
I am sure it is hard to make sense of it all. Especially when we thought of love as for our mother or spouse. When you think of romance this is not love at all in the sense of what we are presenting here. Many people can be romantic and still not have any love in them. Love is much more than words to push a romantic opportunity. It’s much greater than our affections towards another.
Still having trouble understanding this thing call LOVE?
Well, here is the good news we are going to talk about LOVE and go over all of it. It will take some time so first things first. Let’s start praying for understanding of Love. You see, most of us will try and understand love from our experiences in life and that will just help you miss the love that we are talking about here. This Love is first of all.
Not of the earth.
The Love that we are talking about is not like our carnal love which is based on emotions and feelings.
but let me ask you a quick question? Are you loving? ok? I see, so you think you have love in you?
Great! Let’s have a little fun, ok?
Let’s take a test?
No not like at school, but this test is easy and too the point. Are you ready?
Great!
Here’s what I want you to do.
Go to verse 4 and where you see the word love…
I want you to replace it. yep, we are going to put another word and see if we can pass the test.
We call this the LOVE test!
So you are going to go to verse 4 and where you see the words Love suffers long. I want you to take the word love out. Yes, you will take the word LOVE out and put your name in it’s place. So instead of Love suffers long it will be YOUR name suffers long. Like Joseph suffers long, Joseph is kind. ok?
Now, here is what you must do. It will only work if you are honest. you must be honest in order to appreciate this test. ok?
good…
So how far can you get from verse 4 on this love test? Are you kind? if not, then you can not go any futher can you? you already discovered that we fallen short of an aspect of love that is important for us to have in our life.
So have fun with the Love Test and we will continue this on the next post.