This post should be titled: let love rejoice! I am so excited to be sharing with you these wonderfully victorious ways of loving! First I want to define Rejoice: to be glad or delighted, a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment. Think about love rejoicing while you read this:
It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (AMP)
It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail: Injustice is violating the rights of others, not being faithful to your commitments, or being dishonest. Unrighteousness is acting wicked or sinful, not holding any virtue, and not upholding the standards of the bible. Why would anyone want to rejoice in any of this mess? But its true, people who don't truly care about you, or who want you to be living the way that they do will shout with enthusiasm when you drink, or take your first hit of drugs. People who don't love you will be happy to see you upset, and be delighted when things aren't going so well for you. But the ones who truly love you will stand and cheer for you when you choose the path of righteousness, when you follow the truth, and when you choose to follow the path light by the Lord. What is the definition of truth: the actual state of the matter, a verified fact, a confirmed situation or circumstance. When we love the Lord, we should choose to live in truth! If your goal is to love Jesus and allow Him to love you, the easiest way to live in truth is to verify each step with what the bible says. Angela Thomas says that we should look at the bible as a grid that we pass every thing through. If the thing, circumstance, relationship ...etc doesn't match up then it cannot come through into your life. Because we know that truly loving Jesus means keeping his commands (John 14:15)
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes: This is one of my favorite characteristics of love, and I appreciate how the amplified version describes it "Bears up under anything and everything that comes". When you love someone you not only accept the burdens of their life, you bear up under those burdens and help the one you love carry them. To bear up means to hold up, support, and to remain firm. This bearing up is referring to the imagery that Jesus uses to describe sharing a burden. The image of one Ox carrying the weight of an entire cart, and then a second Ox is added onto the cart. When that happens the weight is not too heavy, and they are able to continue on together.
Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person: This concept is similar to the one in verse 5.e in that love doesn't say "because you did something bad yesterday, I cannot believe that you will do something good today." NO! Love says, I am going to trust that you can change and that you can make good decisions today! If we are truly following the command to love our neighbor as ourselves then we also have to love people who we don't even know or have a history with by trusting that they will do the right thing, or that their intention was to do the right thing. One of the hardest parts of this is that when a person does fail us we have to forgive them and not hold it against them in the future! This is the hardest thing to do, but Jesus is the perfect example of the awesomeness of this love! It's also important to remember that we mess up too! I would want someone who loves me to forgive me and trust that I will learn from my mistake.
Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances: Remember the days when you were falling in love, everything is new, and your heart hopes for a future with this person. You dream about what life will be like, how many children you will have, what your house will look like, and what kind of wedding you will have. Your heart trusts that one day those things may come true. Pure love, the kind that Jesus wants us to have and loves us with, looks just like this. Love allows you to hope that the future will be beautiful and amazing! Love lets your heart feel special, and full. This is how Jesus wants us to love others, but especially Him! Jesus wants your heart to dream of what it will be like to live in heaven with Him.
Love endures everything [without weakening]: This is another one of my favorite characteristics because it means that Love does not give up when times are hard. It reminds me of the wedding vows, "For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health". That is really true, those circumstances really happen! Lately I have been reminded about how true that is. I seem to have had so many rotten circumstances come into my life, and it has been so hard to overcome them, but my savior never gave up on me. Endurance is to bear pain or hardships, the ability to continue despite being tired, stressed, or other conditions, not failing, lasting, permanent. Part of enduring when you love someone (Friend, spouse, children, family...etc) is to listen to the way the other feels under the suffering they or the both of you are experiencing. Hearing what the other has to say and then praying about it together is so important! The only way to stand strong through the fires of circumstance is to pray and invite Jesus into the situation!
*Lord Jesus thank you for loving us so much that you are willing to be all of these things to us, that you are the greatest example of what love truly is! For your sacrifice of your life we are so very thankful! It is amazing Lord, how much wisdom you give us through you word! I ask that you would open our hearts and that you would speak to us through what we read each day! Help us Lord to Love those who are our neighbors, and who we are in relationship with. Help us to remember that Love does not weaken, love does not drop to the ground and give up. Love is a rejoicing in victory story! Let us live that each day. We love you Jesus! AMEN*
#love #lettingjesusloveyou #letjesusloveyou #endurance #lovehopes #rejoice
#love #lettingjesusloveyou #letjesusloveyou #endurance #lovehopes #rejoice