1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Five verses of scripture…just five…describe in vivid detail
not only what love (the God kind) is but what it is not. This makes me happy because five happens to
be my favorite number. First of all,
five is the number of years my husband and I were married when we had our son
(a child we thought we may never have).
Five is also the number of years old our son was when our daughter was
born (who came as a total surprise). One
of my favorite scripture verses is Romans 5:5 “And our hope does not put us to
shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us.” (NIV) Most importantly for me, the number five
represents grace. And let me tell you, I
don’t even want to know where I’d be if not for God’s grace in my life. But…I digress. This blog is not about my favorite number
(even though it’s awesome)…it’s about love…what it is and what it isn’t.
Last time, I wrote about love being patient and was pretty
vulnerable about how patience is not naturally a strong suit of mine. Honestly, I thought, “Whew! That’s over
with! Now, the rest should be smooth
sailing”. Umm…yeah…not so much…I was
soon to encounter another that would sting a little (insert grimace here). We’ll get to that one on another blog though. First, we have to see what comes next in
line. I do have to say, I was struck by
the fact there are more things listed about what love isn’t than what it
is. Well, one more but still…it’s
more. Sometimes, it’s good to not only
know what something is but what something is not to truly understand all that
encompasses it.
So, of course love is kind.
That one is pretty easy. Kindness
is not difficult for most of us most of the time. Then begins the list of things love is not or
does not do. Firstly, it does not
envy. According to dictionary.com (I
love this app!); envy is “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard
to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.” Most of us have probably felt envy toward
someone at some point in our lives, but love…love does not envy. Perhaps the most destructive component of
envy is covetousness. It’s hard to be
loving towards someone if we want what they have and are upset they have it and
we don’t. There’s a thin line between
wanting to be successful ourselves and wishing we had someone else’s
success. A lot of times, when we compare
ourselves to others (remember it’s a joy thief!), we run the risk of becoming
jealous or envious of them and we know love does not envy.
Okay. Now what? What do
we do if we find ourselves feeling unhappy about someone else’s success? Their
success shouldn’t make us feel that way.
If it does, we’re probably jealous or envious and we know that is not
who God called and made us to be. We
have to decide (and it is a decision) to be grateful for what we have and who
we are and work on changing the things that may be keeping us from being
successful. What’s holding us back? What
do we need to embrace, start, or pursue that we haven’t yet? What do we need to put aside, stop, or break
away from that is detrimental to meeting our goals or dreams? Looking toward Jesus who is the One who holds
our future and focusing on Him is the key!
That’s the only way we can truly be content and enjoy success in our own
lives.
Whew! So much to
meditate on in only five verses of Scripture! God is good and His heart towards
us is good. His love is alive in us if
we allow it to be.
Until next time…be blessed and remember…love is patient and
kind and it does not envy.
