God Is Love… But Am I?
Source: Brandon Cox
God Is Love… But Am I? is a post from Brandon A. Cox.
God is love. We hear that statement but because it has become so cliche, we fail to feel the full weight of it. We, in our unloving and often unloveable finite human minds will never fully comprehend it. And to emulate that which we cannot comprehend is extremely difficult. If only we had a through, biblical description of this word love… Oh wait!
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, and is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
If I want to be love in the way that God is love, it will take more than words. It will require that I…
- be patient
- be kind
- not be jealous
- not be boastful
- not be proud
- not be rude
- not demand my own way
- not be irritable
- keep no record of being wronged
- refuse to rejoice in injustice
- rejoice when the truth wins out
- never give up
- never lose faith
- always be hopeful
- endure through every circumstance
By the way, have you "liked" my Facebook page yet?
We really couldn’t ask for a more perfect list. Each of those phrases, rightly understood, describes the character of God. (Even though God is called jealous, He is jealous in a righteous way about requiring exclusive devotion to Himself, not in the envious way in which we are often jealous.)
If you want a practical way of determining if you’re really loving God and others, try putting your name in front of each of those phrases. Then do two things:
- Challenge yourself to grow in love so that these phrases describe you.
- Thank God that while none of us measure up to this list, His love compelled Him to provide a Savior for us.
God is indeed love… but am I?
© 2011 Brandon Cox.
Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.