In first Corinthians chapter 13 verses 4-7, Paul gives a definition of what exactly love is.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
In the KJV charity is used. The Recovery version translates it as love.
Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up; It does not behave unbecomingly and does not seek its own things; it is not provoked and does not take account of evil; It does not rejoice because of unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; It covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I think two things immediately stand out to me. The first is that this is no simple definition of love. The second is that this is a very paternal kind of love. It is the same type of love that God displays towards his children.
If we break it down:
- Suffers long
- Kind
- Not Jealous
- Does not brag
- Not puffed up
- Behaves becomingly
- Has inherent worth (seeketh not her own)
- Not provoked
- Thinks not of evil
- Rejoice not because of unrighteousness
- Rejoice because of truth
- Beareth all things
- Believes all things
- Hopes all things
- Endures all things
That’s 15 conditions to meet to even begin to display love. I think we can take a few of the most important. The first is suffers long. That means is you truly love somebody or something, then that love doesn’t fade. If the love is true, you will be willingly to stay be that which is loved, even if you’re wronged. The sixth is true love behaves becomingly. That means we should at all times behave in a matter worthy of God’s grace, even towards that which we love. Because you love something, doesn’t give you justification to do that which you shouldn’t. The tenth and eleventh are rather similar, rejoices because of truth and not because of unrighteousness. Many don’t understand this. Love is not all accepting. True love does not enable sin. True love attempts to guide to righteousness, and rejoices if so, admonishes if not.
Love is important because it connects us to God. If God didn’t have love for his creation, then his creation (us) wouldn’t be here. God doesn’t need our love, but God wants us to express our love for Him. For that makes us more worthy of being loved.
