The More Excellent Way
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NLT
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
The NLT says this kind of love is the way of life that is best of all. And then Paul outlines what love looks like. These verses are extremely helpful because they take love from being a feeling to being an action. So these verses are not about how love feels but how love behaves.
Unfortunately, we have equated love with feelings. The danger here is that if the appropriate feelings are not present, we think love is not an option. If I don’t feel it, I don’t have it. But these verses have nothing to do with how we feel. And here is something that will help. Because we have elevated feelings to a place they have no business being, we have thought that acting contrary to feelings is being ingenuine. But keeping it real is not about feelings. Keeping it real is about action.
So these verses direct how we are to act. And the great thing about feelings is that they are meant to follow action, not be the leader. Looking at these descriptions of love, we see choices we make. We can choose to be patient and kind. We can choose not to be boastful, proud, or rude. And how about this as a high-value choice, choosing not to keep a record of being wronged? Now we know for sure that is a choice. I would not consult my feelings on that decision.
I like how that love, the divine God kind of love, does not rejoice when things are wrong but rejoices with the truth. This is how we can walk in love toward someone and yet not approve or rejoice in their wrongdoing. Love accepts people as they are but does not rejoice in their sin or error.
Love is enduring. There is persistence in love. It never gives up, loses faith or hope. The New King James says that love never fails. While the NLT says love will last forever. Once again speaking to the enduring quality of the divine God-kind of love.
This is the love we are to follow. This is the love we are to walk in. This is the love that Jesus commands us to live by. This love is strong, not weak. This love is the solution to so many relationship problems. This is God’s kind of love, and it works.
Prayer
Help me, Lord, to live in this kind of love. Show me where I need to adjust. This kind of love is Your way and the best way.