Love is...

Love is patient

Love is kind

It does not envy

It does not boast

It is not proud

It is not rude

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

[1 Corinthians 13:3-7]

Remember back in Sunday school when we would insert our names into this?

Stephanie is patient

Stephanie is kind

Stephanie does not envy

Stephanie does not boast

Stephanie is not proud

Stephanie is not rude

Stephanie is not self-seeking

Stephanie is not easily angered

Stephanie keeps no record of wrong

Stephanie does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth

Stephanie always protects

Stephanie always trusts

Stephanie always hopes

Stephanie always perseveres

Pretty good way to think about it, huh? Right. But I mean, what if we ACTUALLY paid attention to what was being said instead of just picking out the best colors to put on the paper we make in Sunday school with these words drawn on it so that it will look good on the refrigerator?

Isn't that how we often go through life anyway? We just pick out the best words to speak, or the t-shirts with the most clever "Jesus phrases" on them, or even our status on facebook... but is it as deep as we play it off? Is it a lifestyle or is it just what we think looks the best on the front of our refrigerators?

Love is the only thing that even gives us a shot at being united with our Creator. Jesus wouldn't have cared to come down here, to live a life surrounded by messed up people, with messed up views, to die an undeserved death, unless he loved us. And he did. And since Jesus is love, and love is all of the previously listed things, and we are called to love... well, you see the cycle...

So many times I use this as a checklist:

patience evident through me sitting through one red light? check.

being kind by not letting a door slam in someone else's face behind me? check.

not boasting in how good my outfit looks today? check.

etc, etc, etc...

I really don't have a profound statement to follow this up with, because I still haven't figured this out. I lose my temper quite often, I smart off at my parents, I'm definitely not humble in all circumstances, I get angry and cranky way too easily, I hold grudges... but that doesn't mean that God's love isn't real and it doesn't mean that I'm not aware of how much God loves me, despite my actions.

Well, I'm not sure how to wrap this up so, this is me wrapping this up.

The End.

God is good, all the time; all the time, God is good.

holla.

-SG