Love is...

This summer I decided to start my own Bible study from scratch.  It’s just me, the Bible, the dictionary, and Jesus.  I chose to do it this way because I didn’t want opinions or interpretations to skew anything I felt I was hearing from God directly to my spirit.  I don’t usually do this because I truly value all the amazing and inspirational sources out there designed to help people better understand the Bible but for this particular study, I just wanted it to be as pure and unfiltered as possible.  I didn’t really have to agonize over what to study because the thing that has been foremost in my mind is pretty simple…love.  Life in Jesus is really all about love…love for God, love for others, love for the earth, love for self…love. 

Love is such a generic term nowadays though.  We love our families, we love our friends, we love our…shoes? Yes, it’s true…we express our affinity or pleasure with something the same way we express devotion and dedication to others.  Love is a word used so often and meant in so many different ways…but the love I wanted to understand, the love I wanted to delve into is the kind of love written about in 1 Corinthians 13.  It’s the kind of love that is superior to all things.  It’s the kind of love that changes lives for the better.  It’s the kind of love that casts away fear and brings about repentance.  It’s the kind of love that covers a multitude of sins.  It’s the kind of love that I not only want to possess but exude through me towards everyone I am connected to.  I want to radiate this kind of love. 

So, I began where I was inspired to begin…1 Corinthians 13.  The first 3 verses basically read that if you are the most amazing person on the planet and can do the stuff of superheroes but don’t have love…you’re useless, ineffective, and have accomplished nothing.  That’s my interpretation of it anyway.  Verse 4 is where the study begins for me: “Love is patient…” There’s more to that verse but I stopped there.  You see, patience is not something that occurs naturally in me.  I tend to be impatient in many ways.  When I want something done, I want it done now not later.  I hate waiting in traffic or in lines of any kind, and I absolutely get irritated beyond belief if someone or something holds me back from getting somewhere I want to go in a timely manner.  I have been known to exhibit a mild form of “road rage” from time to time as well.  I know it’s terrible.  I’m not proud of it.  I really want to be patient and laid back…it’s just not my personality.  However, when it comes to love…love is patient.  Oh boy.  The first 3 words of this study and I’m already feeling convicted.  I decided to look up the word “patient” in my handy dandy dictionary.com app and here’s what it is defined as:

“bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like”

Then I looked up the word “fortitude”:

“mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously”

Upon reading these definitions, I stopped and just sat still and quiet.  I pondered what I read.  I have always heard the saying “If you pray for patience, be careful because something will come that will test your patience to the extreme.”  That scared me so I decided to avoid that kind of prayer.  But God did not give me the spirit of fear! He gave me the spirit of power, LOVE , and a sound mind.  Hmm…if love is patient, then He must’ve given me patience too, I just need to tap into it, right? That’s what I came up with anyway which made me feel much better so I’m gonna go with it! His strength is made perfect in my weakness and boy oh boy do I need His strength in the area of patience.  Instead of feeling condemned and pitiful, I chose to thank the Lord for the spirit of love that lives in me, for His strength that takes the place of my weakness, and for His mercy and grace that cover me when I forget to operate in His love not my own.  I dust myself off, I grab my pen, and I begin to write. I write a prayer:

Lord, help me be filled with Your love.  Your love is patient…help me bear all of those things that come at me with fortitude and grace.  I know that I am not a patient person by nature, I need You for that.  Thank You that Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.  Let Your love reign in me.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen!!

Feeling empowered to live a life of love, I then decide to take to my laptop and type.  I hope that what I type makes a difference for the better for someone besides me and that by typing this all out, I have a constant reminder of the work God is doing in me.  I can’t be the only one that struggles with patience or that desperately wants to radiate God’s love.  So, I choose to allow the Lord to use me, to show His love through me and hopefully, you will too so that even when we get provoked or annoyed; even when misfortune darkens our path; even when we experience delay in getting what we need, desire, or are greatly anticipating…even when we are dealing with hardship, or pain…we hold up and remain firm under all of it.  We endure it calmly (breathe) and without complaining about it (check ourselves).  We press on without getting angry (count to ten) and lashing out (words have power of life and death). We choose to operate in this LOVE…real, true, pure, honest, God-love.  I know I need much, much more of this in me…much, much, MUCH more.

What a start to my Bible study! God is so faithful! He speaks to even me! He loves us that much that when we ask Him to reveal Himself to us through His Word…He will! He does! That’s a lot of exclamation marks in a row but I can’t help it.  His love for me is overwhelming and makes me want to shout!! He loves you that much too!!!!!

Starting today…remember…love is patient and we have that kind of love living in us.