Love Does Not Demand

I Corinthians 13:5 continues to tell what love is and what it is not. Now we learn, love does not demand its own way. Now, that's a new thought. We don't demand love. We give love. We don't expect love. As C.S. Lewis reminded us, we are surprised by love. It shows up in unexpected ways, and through unexpected means. When you start to demand, or even expect something, remember love is a gift by another that we cannot demand. But, if we love, we won't need to demand it, it will come, freely. Freely as you have been given, freely give (Matthew 10:8).

Galatians 5:13 - You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

Love is Not Rude

How does it feel to be around rude people? Not good. Who wants to be around them? I run from them. Well, love has nothing to do with rudeness. Rudeness is again about one's self. Rudeness is me first. Rudeness, is you get out of the way...make room for me. Love must have manners, because it cares about the other. It is always considerate of the other, and putting their needs first. Rudeness is rampant today. There is no consideration of the other whether you are driving a car or riding on a bus. People don't seem to care about those around them. That's because we are becoming a loveless society. Let's put love back into our culture by showing consideration for those around us...especially those close around us!

[I Corinthians 13:5]

Love is Not Proud

Pride in the Greek means to think more highly of yourself, than perhaps you should. It's a bit like hyperinflation, you are asking for more than your are worth. Hyperinflation is when prices increase so rapidly that currency loses value. Pride also encapsulates the idea of one appearing above others, which denotes looking down on others.

Love thinks less of self, and more of others. Love thinks you are worth more than me. Love doesn't look down on people, it looks up and out to people. Pride is antithetical to love. If you've got pride, check it in for love.

[I Corinthians 13:4]

Love Does Not Boast

Aren't boasters the worst people to be around? Arrogant braggards are a drag and a bore. That's why love does not boast. Love has humility. Love would ask, "What is there to brag about, but you?" Because their eyes are on the other. Love is good to be around. Love hardly even notices they did any good, any less than they notice others did not do so good (I Corinthians 13:5). Boasters are all about them and what they've done. Love is all about the other ~ and what can be done for the other.

Who do you like being around? Or should I say, who do you love being around?

I Corinthians 13:4

Love Does Not Envy

Envy is all about the green eye...what others have that you do not. It's about what they've got and I want. It's the thought that you have it and I'm going to take it from you, or at least I don't want you to have it. Bottom line, it's selfishness, self centeredness. This is not what love is about. Love is about giving. Love is about ~ I have it and I want to share it with you, or give it completely to you, because you are more important than me. Envy says I'm the most important one here, 'it's all about me.' It's the culture we live in. It's the marketing campaign of all ads, 'you deserve it.' It's anathema to love. If you have envy in your heart, it crowded love out. The good news is if you have love in your heart, there is no room for envy.

(I Corinthians 13:4)

Love is Kind

The second description of love found in First Corinthians 13, is that love is kind. Here's a good indicator. How kind am I? How kind was I to the clerk that didn't wait on me right away (patience again)? How kind was I to the man who stepped in front of me in line today? Was my glare kind? The bumper sticker says "practice random acts of kindness." Wouldn't it be nice if we just practiced intentional acts of kindness everyday? I know that would make someone's day better, and that someone could be me!

"Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing.

Kindness trumps fear: it calls forth gratefulness and love.

Kindness trumps even stupidity, for with sharing and love, one learns."

Marc Estrin

Love Anyway

Last night I was looking through some of Robert's old files. I found this poem, called Anyway:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered,

LOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies,

SUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,

BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight,

BUILD ANYWAY

People really need help but may attack you if you help them,

HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth,

GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY

It says this poem is from a wall at a children's home in Calcutta (Shishu Bhavan).

This should be written in our hearts. It answers the questions on this day. If you're going to lose someone, why love them? Here's the answer, I'd do it all over again. LOVE THEM ANYWAY. People will disappoint you, people will leave you, people will hurt you, but LOVE THEM ANYWAY.

Love is Patient, are you?

The first description of love given in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians is patience: Love is patient. Contemplate that. Love is patient, or is waiting, or is enduring, or is persevering. This are all Greek counterpoints to the word translated patient. The King James version interprets it as 'suffers long.' There's something we don't want to hear or endure.

One word that does not describe me is 'patient.' I guess that reveals a fault or weakness of mine. If I am to loving, I am to be patient. This is something I am going to have to address, or should I say change.

Gaining Nothing or Gaining Love

I Corinthians 13 verse 3 says if I don't have love, "I gain nothing." In stating you gain nothing, it says even if you give all you have, which assumes you had something. It even says if you sacrifice your body, you gain nothing. In other words you gave up to gain nothing. In giving up, sacrificing, make sure you are giving up to gain and not to lose. We all don't want to give up and have it be for naught. If you don't give with love, it's no good. "Gain" here connotes trading, working. If you are working for something or trading for something, make sure it's for gain: LOVE. At the end of the day, that's the only thing worth gaining ~ or giving, love.

Wtihout love, we are nothing

Let's start with the "Love Chapter," I Corinthians 13: "if I have not love, I am nothing" (verse 2). If I don't have love, I don't have anything. Stating if I have all these other things (gifts, foresight, knowledge, even faith), I still don't have anything. Isn't that an oxymoron? I have all this other stuff, but it says I have nothing. "I am nothing," those are big words. It's even a bigger feeling. If you don't want that, then want love more than anything. Pursue love over anything. Be loving over anything.

The Pleasure of Loving

Author Gary Thomas reminds us to "discover the quiet but profound pleasure of loving and being loved, of truly knowing and being known. To be loved well and to be known completely by one is far more fulfilling than being adored by many and truly known by none." What a lofty thought and goal. Take it to heart today and discover it's pleasure. Remember your audience is one - the one in front of you.

Love the Truth

II Thessalonians 2:10 tells us plainly that people perish because they do not love the truth - so they might be saved. Oh dear one, love the truth, so you might be saved. The truth can save us. It can save you now with what you are dealing with. Not only will it free you (John 8:32), it has the power to save you; and not only from yourself but from evil and eternal suffering. Let truth have it's way with you and love it ~ let the truth save even you.

Keeping Yourself in Love

"Keep yourselves in the love of God..." Jude 21

Isn't that funny that Jude has to remind us to keep ourselves in the love of God.

I think he had to do that because he knew how we would lapse into everything/anything else so easily. So today, I encourage you with Jude's words: KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD - and not anything else!

"You gotta outlove them"

Gray always says this. He has to remind me constantly. Somehow I forget. I have to keep loving. I have to love more. I have to "outlove them" as he says. I have to give more love than I get. I have to love when I don't feel it. I have to extend love when they don't deserve it. How will I ever get this concept? This mantra of his, helps me. I hope it helps you too. Keep outloving them!

Learning Love

Katherine Anne Porter has written: "Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it. Hate needs no instruction, but waits only to be provoked."

Hate is natural and ever present, just waiting for the place to show up. Love is learned everyday as you say no to self and to anger. It is not only our goal, it is our discipline everyday. Exercise is abundant, opportunities arise everyday to let you flex those loving muscles. Don't react naturally, out of self. Act supernaturally, out of the Divine.

From love it to lose it

In one split moment I can go from utter love to loosing it. How about you? Can your peace be pierced in a nano second? How can we be so fickle? How can our love and/or peace be so fleeting, so unstable? Anything can trigger us. Just recall the next something explodes inside, we are called to love, it's a discipline, it's a choice. Lose it in love, not anger!

An Unquenchable love

An often overlooked small book in the Bible, Song of Solomon tells us "many waters cannot quench love." An unquenchable love, that's something to think about. Quenching has to do with putting out fire, extinguishing. This is a love you can't put out. You can't extinguish it's fire. That's a roaring love. A love that has a life of it's own. Cold water thrown on it cannot stop it's spread. Go out and love with that kind of love today, and maybe you'll love with that kind of love the day after tomorrow, and the next, and the next...

An unshakable love

Isaiah 54:10 says God's unfailing love will not be shaken. I like that picture - an unshakable love. Elvis depicted love as "all shook up." Isaiah paints it as unshakable, unmovable, unfailing. His love is sure, it is not shaken by the events of the day or the trembling in our hearts. It is settled: He loves us. And Numbers 23:19 teaches us that God does not change His mind. I Samuel 15:29 & Psalm 110:4 reiterates it.

How is your love? Is it shakey? Learn from the Master Lover. Be all shook up with His love and let that settle in.

An unfailing love

Lamentations 3:32 tells us God shows compassion to us, "so great is His unfailing love." An unfailing love, a love that does not fail. Now, that's something to contemplate. Everyday we encounter failures in love. We see it in broken relationships. We see it in promiscuity and adultery. We see it in spouse's faces everyday. Even if our loves fail, His love does not. So, we should put our trust in His love and not ours, or others.

"But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices..." Psalm 13:5

"The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him." Psalm 32:10

"The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love." Psalm 33:18

"May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You." Psalm 33:22

"Let us give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love..." Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31

Hearts that love get broken and healed

Our hearts have broken over death, disappointments, and delusions. But I was reminded today that broken hearts grow back stronger. Hearts that have not been broken are hearts that have not loved or lived much or long. Hearts that have been broken are sure signs of loving. Healing hearts are sure signs of a good God that looks on the broken hearted.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Love's Mark

We went to a U2 concert last night, and one line struck me:

"Only love only love can leave such a mark
But only love only love can heal such a scar"

Ponder those words. Only love can hurt us so deeply and only love can heal us so completely. If life is all about relationships, relationships are all about love. Let your life be marked by love and healed by it's stripes.

Focusing Words

Something I started saying years ago and have expounded on over the years, has really helped to focus me:

Nothing but love

Everything forgiven

Filled with the Holy Spirit

Emptied of self

By His might

For His glory

See if you can come up with some words that help to bring you back to what matters, when you need it.

Love is a choice

It's a choice today - if you are going to love, how you are going to love, how you are going to demonstrate that love, to whom you are going to extend that love... There are a lot of choices in loving. Which choices will you make? Will you be more patient, show kindness, withhold critical words, change a habit, give mercy to someone who perhaps doesn't deserve it? How will you show love today? It's your choice. Make it a good one!

Duty to Love/Debt of love

"Duty" in Greek means 'debt, or what is due.' Christ paid our debt. But He left us the remainder balance of debt - to love one another.

Romans 13:8: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another."

Pay your installment today on your debt - to love. Make a small down payment or a big lavash one!

Love & Mercy

The Psalms are full of expressing God's merciful love to us. It says God's tender mercies "are from of old." (Psalm 25:6) David called for God's mercy "according to Your lovingkindness, according to Your multitude of tender mercies." (Psalm 51:1 & 69:16).

Let's pray Psalm 119:13: "Look upon me and be merciful to me, as your custom is toward those who love Your name."

God, we need Your tender mercy so we can love. Be merciful to us.

Love & Kindness

II Peter 1:5-7 commends us to add kindness to our love. Verse 8 goes on to tell us if we have these things we won't be useless (barren) or unfruitful in our knowledge of Christ.

How kind is your love? Does your love look like lovingkindness? Kindness takes a gentle spirit. Christ had a gentle spirit. We need one too.

O Lord, let our love be kind.

May our kindness be an expression of Your lovingkindness to us.

One day at a time

Have you asked yourself already today: "How can I love more today than yesterday?" If not, that's a good question. Ask yourself that now. Go ahead, I'll wait. Loving more today than yesterday, should be our goal everyday. One day, we might actually love more than we don't. One day, our thoughts may be purer, our motives more holy. One day, God might have a hold of our hearts, and "not we ourselves." One day, that's what we live for. One day...

Love & Justice

The Lord loves justice. Isaiah 61:8 says that.

God tells us to establish justice (Amos 5:15), to observe justice (Hosea 12:6).

Micah 6:8 is stronger, it asks, "What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?"

So, as long as we are loving, love what God loves. God loves justice. God wants to establish justice. He looks for justice. He requires us to act justly. As you love today, love what He loves. Inculcate that into your life and love.

Side Effects of Love

I am looking for side effects of loving today. In searching the Scripture, I find:

1. Others will know I am His disciple (John 13:35)

2. I will be obedient (John 14:23)

3. God will love me (John 14:23)

4. God will abide with me (John 14:23)

5. I will not be cursed (I Corinthians 16:22)

6. I will be doing right (James 2:8)

7. I will be made complete (I John 4:12)

I wonder what the side effects will be on others if I love. Perhaps, they will love. Perhaps, they will feel better. Maybe, their load will be lighter. They might be encouraged. I don't know if it will help them or not. I don't even know if it will help me or not. It might even make my life harder. But, I know one thing. I will have God with me in it (#3 and #4), and what could be better?

I can do nothing, or I can do something

In John 15:5 tells us "apart from Me you can do nothing." This is a sober reminder to free thinking Americans: we can do nothing. But, the key is APART FROM CHRIST. Jesus goes on to remind us in following verses: abide in Me (verse 7) and abide in My love (verse 9 and 10).

Because apart from Him, we can do nothing. I don't want to do nothing. I know Someone who can help me do somthing, IF I am in Him. Oh Lord, let me abide in You and not run ahead in my self desire or will.

You are Loved

Do you fully comprehend that God loves you?

Deuteronomy 23:5 - "...the Lord your God loves you."

John 16:27- "...the Father Himself loves you."

And the classic, John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son..."

Let those words wash over you today and help you come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of that truth. The more you comprehend that you are loved, you may be inspired enabled to love others. As I John 4:7 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." Know God. Know His love.

Know God and His love today, and will be made manifest in your life and love today.