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…
In this epistle, Paul begins to list the enriching and edifying qualities that are found in godly love which were so lacking in the lives of unspiritual believers. Long-suffering and patient endurance in the midst of provocation, and a kindness that looks first to the needs of others, are the first two evidences of love that Paul pens to the unspiritual crowd…for love is patient, and love is kind. He then points out that godly love is the exact opposite of the unspiritual behavior that had been exhibited by these Corinthians Christians, for love does not envy, love is not boastful or conceited, nor it is jealous, arrogant, argumentative, carnal-minded, discontented, immoral, inconsiderate, unloving, self-inflated, selfish, or critical of others. This thirteenth chapter is considered by many to be the supreme treaties on love, and indeed as we read through this passage that is beloved by many, we discover that only the name ‘Jesus’ could easily be substituted throughout for the word ‘Love’. And justifiably so, for Jesus is patient, and Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, and Jesus is not boastful nor conceited. Jesus is not rude nor does He insist on His own way. Jesus is neither irritable nor resentful, and Jesus does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but He rejoices with the truth…for He is the Truth. When we consider this passage, we need to look deeper in the significance of its true meaning, and earnestly pray that Christ may be formed in us so that we are enabled to love as He loves. Let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, walk worthy of our calling and love others as Christ loved us. Let us behave in a seemly manner that glorifies the Lord and selflessly esteem others as better than ourselves. Let us seek to grow in grace and produce the spiritual fruit of righteousness and love. And let us take every thought captive, being washed in the Word of godly love. We can only attain to the standard that God requires of all his children if we die to self and live to Christ; if we keep the old sin nature nailed to the Cross and live, and move, and have our being in the new born-again nature of the Christ-life that we receive at salvation. If the spiritual fruit of love is to bud, blossom, and mature in our life, we must keep our eyes looking to Jesus and our hearts submitted to the Spirit, as we humbly kneel before the Father and say: “Thy will not mine be done.” Love bears all things by patiently enduring wrongs and evils with a heart of forgiveness. This love covers over the faults of others with a beautiful graciousness that reflects the Savior and does not seek for vengeance. Love believes all things by looking for the good in others rather than suspecting the bad. This love seeks out the best in others with a gracious wisdom that does not condone evil, but which trusts God’s Word to be both the plumb-line for truth and the standard for godly behavior. Love hopes all things by earnestly desiring the best in people as well as in life’s circumstances, even when the worst seems to be knocking at the door. It is not an empty hope, but an ability to keep trusting the Lord in a situation that others have rendered as hopeless. Love endures all things by maintaining an uncomplaining attitude in every affliction and trial, tribulation and temptation, persecution and pain, whether it be for the sake of the saints or for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the difference between the fruit of the Sprit with His gifts, for the fruit of the Spirit is “Love”; pure, holy, unconditional, everlasting, godly love. The fruit of the Spirit is personified in the Lord Jesus Himself. The fruit of the Spirit is “Love”, which fragments into joy, peace, patient-endurance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and these will last forever and ever and into the eternal ages to come, for “Love Never Fails.” We are told that there are three things that will last forever: faith, hope, and love…but the greatest of these is “Love.”
Spiritual Steve 