Love Is

Love Is . . .
I Corinthians 13:4-8a

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Building from His Blueprints

This past Christmas, we left the evergreens and snow in Minnesota for the cactus and desert temperatures of Arizona. Instead of being surrounded by numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins for our annual Christmas Day party, we spent the day with strangers. My husband and I, along with his parents, and our three daughters, spent part of the day serving dinner to the homeless on a vacant parking lot in the middle of Tucson. Our celebration was certainly out of the ordinary.

My 10-year old daughter Melanie, touched by the experience, wrote an email to her Minnesota cousin and asked me to edit it before she hit the send button. It read: “Christmas Day was great. We went to church and then served dinner to the homely people.”

I bit my lip and smiled. “Melanie,” I questioned, “Do you know what homely means?”

She admitted that she didn’t. As soon as I explained, her eyes widened and her hand quickly covered her mouth. “Oops! I didn’t mean that! I meant homeless!” We giggled at the error, made the correction, and sent it off.

Personally I can think of many errors I made on Christmas Day as I reached out to the homeless. I felt awkward in knowing what to do, what to say, or how to encourage and build these people up. I watched other volunteers do it so well. I wanted to be as perfect and accomplished as they were, but I was painfully aware that I fell short.

God gave us His Word, the Bible, as a blueprint for how to build others up. Rereading 1 Corinthians 13, I noticed that the Bible’s love chapter never instructs us to love perfectly. It can’t be done! Only Jesus loves with perfection!

So how do we love and build others up using God’s blueprints? We love others like Jesus did by being patient and kind. We strip envy, boasting, and pride from our thoughts and conversations. We strive to not be rude, self-seeking or easily angered. We never keep track of all the wrongs others have done against us. We hate evil and delight in the truth. We love with a love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. That kind of love is like God’s love, and it will never fail. It will never fall short.

What’s keeping you from building others up? Don’t let your desire for perfection become a roadblock to obeying God’s command to build others up. Meditate on 1 Corinthians 13 and then go and love others like Jesus loves you.

Today’s Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank You for the blueprints in Your Word that show me how to love and build others up. Please help me to encourage others up by loving them with patience and kindness. Keep me from envy, boasting and pride. Help me to be quick to forgive and slow to become angry. Lead and guide me in the greatest and most excellent way: a life of loving You and loving others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Written by Lenae Bulthuis, Renville, Minnesota