Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.
As I explored facebook recently I came upon a 13 year old girl’s status update with this quote. It made me think: What is our generation coming to? You look around the internet and you see quotes about so called “Love” and how it’s so horrible. But what is true Love? We find the true definition for Love in 1 Corinthians 13. This passage is usually seen and never thought about. People think, oh that’s Love but it’s not analyzed. But what does the passage really say? And what does the worlds view of Love say in contrast? I am using The Message, a modern day translation of the Bible that puts this passage in a way that the world today can more easily relate to.
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 never dies. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Perfect Love—God’s Love—that’s what this Love that Paul speaks about is. Although there are many types of Love, philia or brotherly Love, agape or Love for God, eros or passionate/romantic Love, and a few others. But those are the three big ones. Now all of those things can be encompassed in Paul’s definition of Love seen in Corinthians. However, without salvation, without God and his righteousness—we cannot Love with this perfect Love. Hence why the world’s view of Love is so depraved and far off from God’s perfect Love. The most contradicted phrases between these two, epically different, views of Love are the ending phrases. In the secular view--…and ends with a teardrop is a world away from the perfect--Love never dies. Love NEVER dies. Without God, Love fails; in fact, Love is not perfect, so it never is—or at least never is fully Love. This is true with almost all good aspects of life. Without God, life fails—without God, there is death, there is suffering, and there is sorrow. Without God, Love ends.
~Reagan Johnson
I can tell you really thought this through--I'm very impressed :)
ReplyDeleteso many people overlook what love really is every day. I know we do it. Sometimes we forget that only when we depend on God, can He work through us. God is the source of everything that is good.
preach it girl :)