1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
According to this passage: we are nothing with out love! "So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." Everything we do should be out of love! LOVE should be our motivation! How do we love? Is our love conditional or unconditional? We are to love as Christ loves. If we think of how Christ loves, it is amazing! We ask ourselves "HOW?" As a human it is hard to wrap our heads around how we are supposed to love as Christ loved! Yes, at time we mess up, and are "unloving" but it is how we handle it after that matters. Do we ask forgiveness or just keep on going being unloving? Why are we suppose to love like this? We are to be Christ's hands and feet here on earth. Christ's motivation while here on earth was His love for us. We are supposed to love everyone. Those who are for Christ and against. The lovable and unloveable. Those who love us and hate us. Those who have done right to us, and wronged us! Our friends and enemies. We are supposed to show love to all those we come into contact with. Look at your closest relationships. Think about who you love and think about this portion that I will put next. then ask yourself these questions: Do I love like these verses say? Do I really care for others over myself, or do I have a love that wants to see me loved before I give it away to others?? WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION FOR LOVE? Read this next portion!
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies.
Can you say that in your closest relationship, you never gave up and kept loving through the hard times? Can you say you didn't covet another person's relationship because it "looked" better? Can you say you don't show off when you love just so others see what YOU do? Is your love a selfless or selfish love? Do you force yourself on others just to gain love or do you do it just because you want to show your love and expect nothing in return? Do you have a love that is all about "me" or a me first attitude toward love? Do you "fly off the handle" easily with those you love or do you show grace in circumstances? Do you keep score of rights and wrongs done to you and love according to that? Do you have a love full of grace or full of blame? Does your love look for the best in people or the worst in people? Does your love trust, hope, and never give up? Does your love DIE??? I have to say that I answered pretty good, BUT there has been times.... where my love was conditional... there have been times, that I didn't trust, there have been times, when I didn't trust God with my relationships.... There have been times where I lacked love. Love is one thing that we NEED to do! Like it says above "we are nothing with out love!"The last part of this chapter says, that we only know in part! We don't know everything, we cant see what the future holds, and we don't see the big picture, only God does, but when Christ comes again, we will see HIM face to face. We will see why we needed to love through tough things. We will see why we needed to love the unlovable! Love runs deep and when the other person we are showing love to feels it, it runs down deep inside them. When someone truly feels God's love coming from inside us and being our motivation in ALL areas of our life, it makes a huge impact. When we love just to love and show God's love, people notice, and feel that! When we love with conditions, people feel that! Try and make your love unconditional! Try and love how God loves us ALL! We are all sinners BUT God still loves us. We have done so much against God, but HE still loves us! We have sinned so much, but HE still loves and FORGIVES!!! Try and take this chapter to heart and love like God loves! "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love."
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