Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings and of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal.

Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don’t have love, I am nothing at all.

 Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give my body to be burned. If I don’t have love, I get nothing at all.

Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs.

Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.

Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away.

What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect.  But when what is perfect comes, the things that are not perfect will pass away.

When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I had the understanding of a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.

The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.

 –1 Corinthians 13

I have been famililar with this passage as long as I have been a Christian. And, I know it is referring to Christ’s love, which is perfect. No human can be perfectly humble or kind or selfless, and I’m thankful for Christ loving me just as I am, with all of my imperfections

But, lately I’ve been thinking of this passage on a human level. One of the girls I used to work with just got engaged. She’s 22. I found it a little strange that she was planning to get married so young- her fiancee is 21! But then I thought, ‘If they are truly in love, then they really should get married!’ This brought some opposition from my co-workers, who told me how marriage was overrated, and so was love,

However, this situation made me really question and seek after this ultimate question I’ve been dancing around- What on earth is Love in this life? We see movies, read books, and day-dream about being ‘in love’ but what is that really referring to? We love our true friends, despite their downfalls, their wrongdoings, and how they may hurt us. But, does the same apply with a significant other? Where is that line between accepting one’s faults and counting your losses and tossing them aside? When I think about it, I can’t think about truly loving someone because Christ’s death on the cross for me triumphs over any time of human love. The selfless love of His dying so silly creatures like us could spend eternity with Him is…obviously not human.

But, we were created for community. God explained that it was “not good for man to be alone” and so he made woman also.  But, loving a significant other can be quite different than loving a friend.  What does it mean to “love” another? I’ve been told it is mostly a choice-  one must really choose to love another, despite the baggage, imperfections, idiosynchrocies, etc, that he or she has.  To look beyond all of those things that he or she has, and see the soul beyond. When your clothes and friends and makeup and material things are stripped away, who are you? What are you living for? These are things one falls in love with..

To love in this life is, I suppose, a human representation of Christ’s love for us.

• Love is PATIENT and KIND-  We are not to grow anxious with another if he or she does things in a way we are not used to, or in timing that is not ideal to our own. In such a way, we must also be kind and compassionate to them, without any type of sarcasm or malice.
• Love does NOT boast or brag- We are to be humble! Yes, humble. In our achievements, in our manners. If we truly believe we are the greatest, does that not mean that in your love, you will believe the other inferior to you, and therefore unworthy of you? That being said, swallow some pride and take a dose of humility.
• Love DOES NOT look out for its own interests- This is where being selfless is so important. I’ve been told that one Always is looking out for oneself- that, to an extent, humans are always looking our for their own interests. Here is a place where we need to seek to become more Christlike. Being truly in love with a person means sometimes doing things that will not benefit you At All, but will help out the other person. Going out of your way in order to solely serve someone else, without dwelling on the fact that you are being inconvenienced, is one of the most selfless ways to love, I think
• Love DOES NOT keep a record of other people’s wrongs- Forgive and forget, right? Maybe not. This truly mirrors Christ because, when we sin and ask God forgiveness, He completely blots out our wrongs and makes the slate clean like we haven’t sinned. But, as humans, it is almost impossible to forget someone wronging you. However, real love means being able to forgive the other for whatever he or she has done (in your heart, as well as verbally), and not holding it against them again. That does not give the other person liberty to continue the action, however.

This passage just speaks to me in a way that others do not. Love being the greatest of all things and everything else passing away truly shows how FLEETING this world is. How Christ’s love for us is the ONLY thing that remains, and so, we must respond to this love by giving Him OUR LIVES. It’s similar to hollowing ourselves out and filling with Christ. To say “Use me God, in whatever way you choose, and teach me to LOVE like You love.”

 

I suppose this post was more revealing than I could have  hoped.
What is love? Taking a human that is clearly an imperfect being that will never be able to fully 100% satisfy you [although Christ can], and trying to be like Christ in your actions. As Christians, we are told to love All. In a mate, to love them despite their imperfections is truly key- to learn to love the things that make he or she unique, and press and urge to mend the parts of his or her life that can use some shaping up- not for yourself, but for his or herself. 

 

When will I know if I’m in love? I’m always in love with my Jesus. and those I know. But when will I know if I am in “love” as the world describes ? When does “in like” become “in Love” ???  

I could hardly know..but until We begin looking at Love through Christ’s eyes, I know we will be missing the boat.