“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;” 1 Corinthians 13:4
It is very interesting how Paul makes a transition in verse four from speaking of the gifts and of personal sacrifice to then giving a detailed definition of what love is and what love isn’t. He really makes it very clear that the love he is speaking of is not a humanistic, self willed love. It is a love that can only come from God into our spirit man and then flow from us to others. There is no way any of us could ever execute this kind of love for any extended period of time because even though our spirit may be willing our flesh gets weak and it reacts carnally from time to time.
It is clear that Paul wants us to understand the importance of accepting God’s love first and then submitting our flesh under the authority of the Holy Spirit so that we are able to produce the lasting fruit of the Spirit in our lives! Remember once again what Paul said in Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
And remember what John said in 1 John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11
So once again these verses remind us that our human effort to love is futile and in vain. God is love and only the Spirit of God in us can execute the kind of love Paul is speaking of in verses four and five of this passage. I am experiencing this in techno-color right now in my life because of the situation we are in. We moved to St. Louis with the promise of jobs, housing, and support only to have it unravel upon our arrival due to circumstances beyond our control. Each and every morning I have to submit my flesh under the authority of the Holy Spirit and ask for Him to execute this kind of love in me and then through me because my flesh is weak from the trial.
It is only by the grace of God that I can do this because my own self effort to stay positive and hopeful failed two weeks ago when I realized that our few week hotel stay may turn into several months if we don’t have a miracle happen. But the love of God is long-suffering and it keeps me focused on the promises of God and not on the reality of my circumstance. The love of God is kind and it keeps me waking up every morning with a smile on my face and words of encouragement for my husband and children. It also gives me the strength to greet each motel worker with a hug and a word of hope for their day.
The love of God does not envy and it is what keeps me secure in being content in my circumstance. I daily remind myself of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:10-13 where he says, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The love of God does not parade itself and is not puffed up and it is my reminder to never become prideful once we are back in a place of abundance and no longer in a place of need. The love of God in me produces humility but once again it is not a self imposed humility but a humility that is produced when I understand and accept the grace of God that was given to me on the day I accepted Christ as my Savior! And it is this understanding that will keep me from becoming prideful or boastful once the abundance of wealth is restored and it will help me to resist the devil when I am tempted to be prideful. Remember what James said in James 4:6-7, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
The love of God is the only love that can empower any of us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desire of our flesh to react to trial and tribulation. There is nothing lacking in the love of God! The full measure of God’s love was given to us on the day of our salvation but it is our responsibility to receive it and walk in it on a daily basis. It is God’s incredible love for us that keeps us grounded in our faith and it empowers us to walk by faith and not by sight.
I want to leave you today with Paul’s words to us from Romans 5:1-5 and I want to encourage you to meditate on these verses before you join me tomorrow for the next study on 1 Corinthians 13. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
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