Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: What's love got to do with it? Part 2

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. (2) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (3) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (4) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ((5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; (6) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; (7) bears all things , believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (8) Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:1-8. NKJV

Verse 5 tells us that, 'Love is not provoked.' When we're not in control, it is easy to be provoked by someone or something. It's far better to walk away without rising to the bait. It's not easy to do at times, but if we can, it shows a great deal of maturity if we do. Even in Christian groups it is easy to be provoked. Someone may not agree with your interpretation of a scripture and may even challenge it in a strong or possibly rude way. How we respond to this will determine the outcome and display the measure of love we possess.

What we watch on TV or our choice of film, also determines where we stand. There is a lot of temptation in TV dramas and films these days and if we're not careful what we watch, we can easily become corrupted by it all. Remember Eve? As she continued to look at the fruit, she became mesmerised and was finally hooked and the result was disastrous. (Genesis 3).

A deep study of 1 Corinthians 13 will help us to adjust to the way the Apostle Paul was teaching. Love - God's love = Agape, is really unconditional love. It bears all things. In other words, it puts up with a lot of stuff that it thrown against us and rises above it. It believes all things and always thinks the best of people, until proven wrong. Sometimes, gossip goes around and it appears so convincing. It can really taint the character of a brother or sister and the sad part of it all is, it is probably not true. Someone has heard something and it has been passed around and received as the truth. We need to guard against such things.

Love also hopes all things - it is full of faith; it knows that whatever happens, God will never let us down because He is love. 1 John 4:16 tells us that, 'God is Love'. Therefore, God is Love - Love is God and our hope is in Him. So the love that the Apostle Paul is telling us, is about God himself - Love.

And in closing - catch this - 'Love never fails,' or we can say, 'God never fails.' He never has and He never will. Oh, to be like Him!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard