Love is patient, love is kind and is
not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
1 Corinthians 13:4 New American
Standard Bible 1995
What is love? How does love
act? This verse may be over used a bit, at almost every wedding and valentine’s
card, but it is worth a deeper look. The Greek has several words which
translate as the English “love,” this one happens to be agape, the ultimate form of love, the kind God has for us. The word
translated “patient” literally means to be long-spirited. Love endures and does
not lose heart. It does not give up on the object of its affection, and it is
also slow to anger. Love is also kind. It is not mean or harsh, nor does it use
the object of its affection spitefully or selfishly. It thinks of what is best
for the other. Love is also not jealous. The word used for jealous here is to
have strong feelings like envy, zeal, desire, hatred etc, but the negative
forms. Love does not do this. It does not burn or get heated. All of these
things are selfish in nature, which is the antithesis of love. Love does not
think of self, therefore it cannot envy, hate or be jealous, nor does it desire
wrong things. Love is also not arrogant or bragging. It does not think itself
above others, does not try to prove how good it is, put others down or puff
itself up. It doesn’t inflate or embellish itself. Basically, it is humble,
honest and puts others first. In summary, love perseveres, is kind, humble,
self sacrificing and slow to anger.
Look at those you love. Do
your actions show love? Are you patient, kind, humble and self sacrificing? Or
are you easily irritated, discouraged, unkind, spiteful, selfish, jealous,
arrogant or boastful? Ask God to open your eyes to how He loves you, and to
help you love others as He does.
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Translations of Greek and Hebrew words taken from
blueletterbible.org
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