Jesus Is Love: Pray For His Will and His
Ideal.
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“Jesus is patient and kind. Jesus is not
jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Jesus does not demand His own way.
Jesus is not irritable, and Jesus keeps no record of being
wronged. Jesus does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever
the truth wins out. Jesus never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,
and endures through every circumstance, but Jesus Love will last
forever!”~1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT2)~
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13:4 Love is patient. NIV
Because love is so important among the believers, Paul went
on to describe that love in more detail. How does such love look when
lived out in the lives of believers? First of all, love is patient.
The expression "is patient" (makrothumei) is the opposite of being
short-tempered. Patience (sometimes translated "long-suffering" or
"slow to anger") is an attribute of God (see Exodus 34:6; Numbers
14:18; Romans 2:4; 1 Peter 3:20). In many places, God's people are called upon
to be patient (see, for example, Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1
Thessalonians 5:14). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
What does patient love among believers
look like? Such love bears with certain
annoyances or inconveniences without complaint. Such love does not lose its
temper when provoked. Such love steadily perseveres. Without love, no matter
how wonderful the gifts in the church, people will be impatient with one
another, short-tempered, and irritable.
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“Before we rush to trivialize these words about love by assuming,
they can easily fit us, let's stop to consider that they actually describe
God's character. These are not sugary claims. They are hard-edged descriptions
of God's perfection-in-relationship. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle to
write a breathtakingly beautiful description of the nature of God. Only God can
put His character in us.” ~Neil Wilson~
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Love is kind. NIV
The Greek word translated "is kind" (chresteuetai)
occurs only here in the New Testament. ("Kindness," chrestotes,
occurs in Galatians 5:22.) It probably means the same as a similar word (also
translated as "kind") in Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven
you" (NLT). Kindness takes the initiative in responding generously to
others' needs. The psalms and writings of the prophets say much about God's
kindness (Psalm 18:50; Isaiah 54:8; Jeremiah 9:24). Because believers have
received kindness, they ought to act with kindness toward others.
How does "kind love" look
among believers? Such love is considerate and helpful
to others. Kind love is gentle and mild, always ready to show compassion, especially
to those in need. Without love, even the great gifts cannot be exercised with
an eye to helping others.
It does not envy. NIV
"Envy" refers to strong jealousy of another
person. The envious person desires what another person has. This seems to have been
a particular problem in Corinth—those with "lesser" gifts envied
those with "greater" gifts. The seed of envy can lead to seething
anger and hatred. Those who are too busy envying each other's gifts are
unlikely to be using their own gifts in loving service to God and others. Envy
stagnates the church, causing the envious believers to remain self-centered and
self-focused, feeling sorry for themselves, and not fulfilling their God-given
role. When there is love, believers will gladly use whatever gifts they have
been given to work together for the advance of God's kingdom. They will be glad
that others have different gifts so that the entire job can get done.
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LIFE APPLICATION: GENUINE LOVE
Society confuses love and lust. Often, so do believers.
Unlike lust, God's kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward
toward one's self. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against
natural inclinations. It is possible to practice this love only if God helps us
set aside our own desires and instincts so that we can give love while
expecting nothing in return. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more
love we will show to others.
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While some believers may have a problem with envy, those
with the "greater" gifts might have a problem with boasting or pride.
Again, it seems that this may have been a problem in Corinth. When
spectacularly gifted believers begin to boast, they have directed their
energy toward themselves. The gift becomes not a tool of service for the
kingdom but a way of self-advancement. Such believers are proud. While
some pride can be positive, this kind of pride takes credit for an undeserved
gift. Gifted believers who are caught up in pride and boasting over their gifts
are unable to serve. Without love, they may feel that by using their gifts,
they are doing someone a favor, that others should be grateful to them, and
that they are far superior.
13:5 It is not rude. NIV
The word translated "is rude" (aschemonei) refers
to actions that are improper. Also translated as "love does not behave in
an unseemly way," this means that love does not behave impolitely,
discourteously, or crudely. Believers who use their gifts with love will be
careful to act in a manner worthy of their calling before God. They will never
humiliate others. This may also have been a problem in Corinth, especially in
their worship services (see 11:2-16).
People who are self-seeking always want their own
way. They are selfish, self-centered, wanting what they think is best for them.
This is the opposite of love. Love (agape) looks out for others, seeks their
best interests, willingly gives up its own for the sake of another. A self-seeking
person may use his or her gifts but not with a serving attitude or a desire to
build the kingdom. Instead, the gifts are only used if they can somehow benefit
the self-seeking person. This is not God's way. Instead, because of love, the
believers use their gifts to benefit others first, without "self" or
selfish desires getting in the way.
The word for "easily angered" could also be
translated "touchy," "irritable," or "sensitive to
slights." Such people let things get on their nerves. One believer, in the
process of exercising his or her gifts, may irritate another believer. These
"easily angered" believers may not like the style or manner in which
these others exercise their gifts. Or they may get easily angered at anyone who
crosses them. This is not the way of love. When believers exercise their gifts
in love, they will be able to give one another some latitude to follow God as
they see fit. They will not let themselves be easily provoked over
disagreements, but they will be able to always respond in a loving manner. This
does not mean that anger is wrong, for anger can be a motivating factor when
directed against wrongs or injustices. People who are "easily
angered," however, are usually upset about personal affronts or minor
issues. This stifles their service for God and the use of their gifts.
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LIFE APPLICATION: IRRITABILITY
Paul says that true love isn't easily angered. Sometimes
we're irritated or angered by others, and we don't know why. Not all
irritability stems from sinful or selfish motives, although the irritable
treatment of others surely is wrong. Much irritability comes from a love of
perfection, a deep desire that programs, meetings, and structures be run
perfectly. A desire to run things perfectly can erupt into anger at events or
people who get in the way or ruin that desire. Those who are easily irritated
need to remember that perfection exists only in God. We need to love him and
our fellow Christians, not the visions we have for perfection here on earth.
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Believers must not allow themselves to become easily
angered, and they must not keep a record of wrongs. Such people will
remember every offense against them as though it were written in a book and
tallied. These "wrongs" are not sins that need to be dealt with in
the congregation (such as that described in chapter 5) but minor offenses or
misunderstandings between believers. Those who keep a record of these wrongs
and personal injuries will harbor resentment against other believers. Love,
however, makes allowances for people's foibles and flaws and willingly forgets
when wrongs were done. This frees all believers to grow and mature in Christ
and to grow in their ability to serve and use their gifts. When mistakes are
made, love overlooks them and allows believers to continue to serve with the
gifts God has given them. God does not keep a record of believers' wrongs (2
Corinthians 5:19).
When believers show love, they do not delight in evil,
either by showing superior morality over it or by taking pleasure in another's
fall. Love does not take pleasure in any kind of evil. Instead, love does the
exact opposite—it rejoices with the truth. Through their relationship
with Jesus Christ, believers possess the one and only truth (John 14:6). Those
who love should remain untainted by evil. Instead, they ought to always seek
truth, desire that truth win out, protect the truth, and proclaim the truth
whenever possible.
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Personal Application
Reading that Jesus is Love, then reading the name of Jesus
placed in the proper place of His attributes, it is your turn to place your
name where Jesus name (Love) is to see how you measure up to the standard. Remember,
Jesus is perfect, and we all fall short of the ideal, we all miss the mark of
perfection. The point is to recognize that we fall short and to look to Jesus
as the author and finisher of our faith and pray for help to move us closer to
that which He desires, a personal relationship with Him. It is in that personal
relationship of trust and faith that we move ever closer to His ideal. Pray
for His will and His ideal.
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“Love suffers long and love is kind; love
does not envy; love does not parade itself, love is not puffed
up; love does not behave rudely, love does not seek its own, love
is not provoked, love thinks no evil; love does not rejoice in
iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; love bears all things, love believes
all things, love hopes all things, love endures all things; love
never fails.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV)~
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Bruce B. Barton et al., Life Application Bible Commentary
– 1 & 2 Corinthians, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1999), WORDsearch
CROSS e-book, Under: "1 CORINTHIANS 13".
"Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to
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