Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7
When considering how we treat other people, Andy Stanley prompts Christians to ask the question, "What does love require of me?" If this question becomes the filter through which we decide how to interact with others, I believe that the way we care for and treat other people will be forever impacted. As we consider caring for our parents and those who have become like parents to us, this question serves as a reminder that God's love should be our motivation in the way we interact with them.
1 Corinthians 13 is a well-known chapter of the Bible all about instructing us to love others. Throughout this chapter, Paul writes that love should be at the core of everything that we do. He writes, "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (verse one). In other words, this verse reminds us that good actions without love are just noisy, distracting instruments. He explains that love is patient, kind, not jealous, and not proud (verse four). These are only a few of the descriptive words for love that Paul gives in this chapter. Verse seven declares that "love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." It is with this love that we are called to love our parents and those who are like parents to us.
Are you demonstrating this kind of love to your parents or those who have become parents to you? Are you showing them the love that perseveres? Are you loving them even when you are tired, or are you at a point where you feel like giving up? My friend, let this love described in 1 Corinthians 13 be your motivation as you care for them and show them the love of God.
With your journal or notebook, take some time to think about your parents or those who are like your parents. Answer this question as you consider the way you honor and care for them: "What does love require of me?" After answering that question, plan to do whatever love requires of you this week.
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NLT)
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
