Love Goes Beyond Liking

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Bee's Thoughts:

These verses are so familiar to me that I can almost quote them anytime, for LOVE is what keeps me alive today... without love, life is meaningless for me.

When I was a 5-year-old child I thought of running away from home or even suicide when my grandma passed away. For she was the only one I could feel loving me, no one else did. The world was a cruel world without her around to shower me with love.

Then I lived my life without much purpose until I believed in Jesus Christ at the age of 12. I began to feel love again... from God and from a few Christians around me.

What is love? Who should we love? How do we love?

We think of love as an emotion, a tender feeling, a positive reaction. So when Scripture commands us to love God and our neighbor, we may be confused about the meaning of love (Matthew 22:37-40)

So love must be more than an emotion. An old translation of our Lord's command may help us to understand love as an action that we choose: "Thou shalt love . . . ." It's choosing to be patient, kind, selfless, and humble (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). We can love others even though we may not like them, because it's a matter of making a choice.

Yes, we can respond obediently to what our Savior directs us to do. He knows, though, that we are not capable of doing this on our own. That's why He's given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to a life of loving obedience. With His help, we can learn to love those we don't like. Who knows? We may even begin to like them.
—Vernon Grounds, Daily Bread

What is love?
We know whether we love someone, or if someone loves us by using the description of love in the above verses... patient, kind, etc.

Who should we love?
We are to firstly love God, then love our "neighbours"... people around us, i.e. strangers, 'enemies', friends, gf/bf, spouses, siblings, etc. Yes, including 'enemies'... if we can love our 'enemies' whom we dislike we would already have learnt the meaning of love and can love someone whom we like in a wholesome way.

How do we love?
Firstly, we love BY CHOICE.. i.e. we WILL to love rather than depend on our feelings or emotions. Our feelings will never want to love strangers or our 'enemies', or people whom we don't like. Secondly, we ask the Spirit of God to help us love despite of our feelings... for LOVE is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and is the characteristic of a Spirit-filled Christian.



Dear Lord, thank you for reminding me of love and the fruit of the Spirit. Fill me Lord with your Spirit that I may love in a wholesome way. Grant me your joy and peace again today because He (You) that is in me is greater than he that is in the world. Amen.