1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

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.

The real test of love comes not when everything is pleasant, but when love must become a decision rather than a feeling. Love is patient when your patience is tested. Love keeps no record of wrongs when your flesh wants to rehearse every offense. Love is not rude when you feel justified in your frustration.

Reading through 1 Corinthians 13 should humble us, revealing how incomplete our love truly is. But this shouldn’t lead to despair—it should lead us to dependence. Paul reminds us that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Before responding in the flesh to someone who has hurt or misunderstood you, wait. Ask the Spirit to pour God’s love into your heart so you can see that person as God sees them. This is how we keep ourselves in the love of God.

Pastor Wade O’Neill