Love Is…

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Whenever I need to check my own love pulse, to see if I’m loving like Jesus – which usually means I’m not.. I go to the Word. The passage above is one of my first passages – in all the various translations..

When I start in the Word, I find where I need to focus. I find where I lack love. I find where I need to pray for God to heal, reveal, uproot, deliver, shine the light…

Love is and Love does. There are things, also that Love does not do. Things also that Love is not.

It’s important that we can truly recognize what Love is, because God is Love and Love is of God. How many times have you (I) mistaken something that was not of God, for love?

A few weeks back, I was having a difficult time, and apologized for it. Not only apologized, but falsely assumed that my hard time was causing strain on my interpersonal relationships. It wasn’t until someone said to me: You having a hard time isn’t an inconvenience. If people who care about you aren’t with you in the difficult times, do we really care?

I had to digest that one.

Too often, I’ve accepted what Love is not as Love, and it’s muddled my thinking. But when I use the Word of God as the standard against which I measure everything.. Well, I can’t quite go wrong.

*Original image courtesy of Yours Truly ☀️🤍🌸