More Love than You Have

 February 14, 2024

Wednesday

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (NASB 2020 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. ⁵ It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, ⁶ it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷ it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I have never understood what people meant when they asked, "Am I in love?" What do they think love is?

Love is a decision. It is often preceded by a bunch of other decisions. These decisions are found in listening, watching and caring. They are found in time and relationships. Ultimately, they are not the realization that you are in love but that you have decided to love.

If love is merely an emotion, it will be unreliable. It will not be patient when it needs to be patient. I will not be kind. It will be jealous. It will be all the negatives of what love really is. Love must be a decision that is backed up with determination.

Some people are easy to love. Some are almost impossible. Everyone is hard to love sometime. That doesn't mean we quit loving. It means that we get more determined. Then, we look at the definition of love found in these verses and ask, "Am I loving this person?"

I read this scripture at many weddings. The couple thinks they can love like this on their own. They try to live their lives in the original love that they had for each other and it doesn't work. They wonder what is wrong. They have no recognized their own inability to uphold the love that they thought they had. They thought their love was like this scripture naturally. It isn't.

This is the love that comes through Jesus Christ. He loves when we aren't lovable. He loves when we do things that hurt Him. His love is supernatural. It is the love that we must have. It doesn't matter if we are loving a spouse, a brother or sister or a co-worker that no one can stand. 

Eventually, natural love runs low. It may even run out. It depends on too many circumstances to be reliable. The love that God has given us changes us to love like He loves if we will allow ourselves to be loved.

Tell the Lord of the love you would like to have for those you are supposed to love. That love will increase in His love. Tell the Lord of someone you need to love but don't. The Lord will give you that love.

Love has nothing to do with whether or not a person deserves it. Love is from God for God is love.

This week's sermon: https://prentis.podbean.com/e/praying-in-the-spirit/