2002-12-13 - Love

Passages Related to Advent Series, Part 2

A plethora of songs have been composed on the topic. Countless books and magazine articles purport to advise us how to find it. But what the world thinks of "love" is often actually lust. And too often, people are in relationships for what they can get out of them, with little thought for the sacrificing nature of God's kind of love.

We tend to confuse love with a "feeling" word, when in reality, it's an "action" word. Even if we don't "feel" love for our spouse, coworker or other difficult person, God wants us to act lovingly toward them - even to those whom we feel don't deserve it. After all, none of us truly deserve love.

The word love occurs in the Bible 527 times, so obviously it's something God wants us to focus on. Today we will read passages about true love - the love God has for us, as well as the true love that we should show for others. All passages today are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

1 John 4:16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

1 John 3:1a See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.

1 John 3:16-17 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Matthew 5:43-47 You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Jan

 jan@cfdevotionals.org
http://www.cfdevotionals.org