I think that 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 is one of those passages in Scripture which a great many people in the world have heard of, one way or another. It is recited at weddings like some sort of rote prayer and even secular songs have used it as inspiration. In our human search for the explanation of what love is, this piece of God's Word has played an important role.
Of course it has also inspired twisted views of love. Remember the infamous: "love is never having to say I'm sorry"? (Well, I guess saying you do know that phrase would be an indirect admission of your/our age...which reminds me I heard it from my OLDER sister LOL! : ). I mean, really! Can anybody who has loved someone deeply, and I don't mean only romantic love, but just LOVE, honestly say that they never had to say "I'm sorry"? Forgiveness is a huge part of love! We are humans, and as such we are imperfect, and as such we make mistakes and hurt people! It is as unfortunate as it is inevitable. And because of this fact, we are called to repent. Therefore, honest repentance implies acts of forgiveness, hence, having to say "I'm sorry" quite often.
At any rate, in our quest to figure out what love truly is, we have remembered that God is love. Therefore, God, not Prince Charming, is the ultimate definition of true love. We know that we love because He first loved us and that without Him in us, the "love" we experience is worldly love, not Biblical love. It is the Holy Spirit in us who plants the seed of love and makes it grow with our faithful awareness. In today's Scripture we see that love also implies other practical things. We also see what love is not. And we learn that it is an action, or rather a series of actions...and that it NEVER fails. It never fails because when we have love, we have God, and God never fails.
At any rate, in our quest to figure out what love truly is, we have remembered that God is love. Therefore, God, not Prince Charming, is the ultimate definition of true love. We know that we love because He first loved us and that without Him in us, the "love" we experience is worldly love, not Biblical love. It is the Holy Spirit in us who plants the seed of love and makes it grow with our faithful awareness. In today's Scripture we see that love also implies other practical things. We also see what love is not. And we learn that it is an action, or rather a series of actions...and that it NEVER fails. It never fails because when we have love, we have God, and God never fails.
Can one write a meditation on what love is in one paragraph? I surely can't, but Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit certainly did:
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: 4-8a
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