Many years ago, I was talking on the phone with a guy I knew. (That's when phones were connected to the wall!) I was a very young woman, and I'd spent my teen-age years trying to fill an emptiness in my heart with this or that guy. No matter how far I went, nothing seemed to really work out. While I was on the phone, I flipped open a Bible my grandpa had given me, and started reading…
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.
Love never fails. ~1Cor. 13:4-8
"That's the kind of love I want," I told my friend. I was sure that it existed, and that if I found the right guy, it would be mine. Little did I know that the "Right Guy" was knocking on the door of my heart.
Several months later I would come to know a love so deep and so real that it would cause every other love to pale in comparison. I trusted my life to Jesus.
You see, romantic love is fine. The love of a true friend is a blessing. The love of your parents can carry you pretty far. But the unconditional love of the Lord is such an amazing thing to have and to hold on to. It's a love that says, "I'll be there for you... I care about what happens to you... I forgive everything you've ever done... I hurt when you hurt... I can make all things new!... I love you!"
Now that I'm a believer in Christ, and can truly understand and appreciate God's word written on the pages of my Bible, I am so grateful for the part that comes next.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a (young woman), I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~1Cor. 13:11-13
There is nothing... NOTHING like the love of God.
Let's Pray...
Dear Lord, soften my heart to respond to Your love. I pray that Your love would grow within me. Help me to put Your love first in my life. I'm excited to think about what You will do in my life and the lives of the people I care about as I trust You with my heart every day! In Jesus' name. Amen.
Now what?...
Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. Read verses 1-12 and substitute "God" everywhere you see "love." This is how God loves you. Do you believe it?
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