What is “love” as God intends it to be? God anticipated this question and gave us an answer through the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 13, he describes love in 15 ways, using 15 verbs in the original Greek language.

In just four verses, Paul writes one of the most profound statements in all of literature about love.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV).

These verses don’t so much define love as they describe what love does and doesn’t do. “Love is a verb” is a nice way of characterizing Paul’s understanding of love. You will know love by how it behaves. Paul isn’t interested in an abstract definition; he is interested in practical reality: love in action.

In this chapter, Paul lists eight negatives, or things that true love is not. The negatives are sandwiched in between six positive attributes of love, followed by the declaration that love is eternal; it never ends.

We can understand these verses in two ways: this is how we should be, and this is how God is, since “God is love” (1 John 4:7 NIV). We love others and God because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). The supreme example of God’s love is Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us, while we were God’s enemies (Romans 5:8-10; 1 John 3:16). He died in our place for all the times we fail to love God and love others, so that he might give us the ability to truly love God and others again.

Read these 15 descriptors for godly love and honestly test yourself. Could others describe you in this way? Ask God to help you, through his Spirit, to understand Jesus’ love for you displayed through the cross, and to grow in his love for others.

by Bibles.net

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