According to man, love is reduced to simply a feeling or emotion that moves in and out of our lives like the wind. Such love is typically conditional and self-centered. In contrast, God is love which is rooted in his nature (1 Jn 4:7). His love is transcendent and self-sacrificial as it is fully manifested in his Son, Jesus Christ. In this devotional series, Paul gives God’s definition of love in 1 Cor 13 that should be practiced in the daily life of a Christian.
In the Greek, the word used in the text for love is “agape” (ἀγάπη), which essentially means a love that is affectionate or benevolent (i.e., disposition towards goodness, kindness, and generosity). As a result, you will notice the drastic difference between man’s and the Bible definition on this topic. God’s love is not a feeling, but rather an action found in his character that has overtaken a specific areas of our hearts that we express towards others. Paul begins to unpack the attributes of Biblical love as follows:
Love is patient. This is reference to our ability to forebear with others in respect to enduring offenses and injuries they cause in our lives. Like God, we become slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We demonstrate a willingness to put up with a person’s unpleasant characteristics by our patience. In other words, we demonstrate God’s patience with our sins and character flaws with others.
Love is kind. If we have love for someone, kindness is surely to be a quality of our acts towards them. For the Christian, is also a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) reigning in our hearts. Kindness is like a warm blanket in which love is wrapped.
Love is not jealous. Some English translations use the word “envy.” This trait of our human condition is like addictive vice. It can destroy us from the inside (Prv 14:30), and be the source of disastrous effects in our relationships with people. Remember, the first murder in human history was Cain and Abel (Gen 4). Jealousy was the root cause, as it is fuel for a murderous mindset. Only God can be jealous and not sin because he commands that his people worship him alone. Not so for us. A Biblical love is free from jealousy.
Love is not boastful. If a person’s behavior is often marked with self-exaltation in achievements/position, and condescending of anyone who does not affirm their attitude and way…………you have someone who does not possess Biblical love. Such behavior is devoid of God’s love, as their focus is self-centeredness, not God-centeredness. This is not the way of the Christian life. We all are given a spiritual t-shirt at the time of salvation that says, “It is not about me.”
Love is not arrogant. This attribute of our human conditions is “pride’s” ugly cousin. Such a person carries a disposition of superiority over everyone else around them. They are puffed up in self and barren of genuine humility. Worst, a person who displays this quality has a God-complex. It is all about them. The affections of the true and living God has fled our hearts when we operate in arrogance. We cease in these moments from demonstrating the character of God. One Bible commentator put it this way, “Arrogance is devoid of love and love is devoid of arrogance; indeed both are mutually exclusive.”
Do you see the difference here? It should not take long to see wide gaps in how we love versus how God does. Yet, we are commanded to love as he does. Demonstrating an affection for our fellow man with love that endures is what draws people to God through us and transforms their lives. Trust God my friends. I say again, love as he does. In doing so, we shall experience true freedom as agents of his love and grace. Amen.
Blessings,
Dr. Jason S. Price, Th.D.
www.springoflivingwaters.com