Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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Provocations
Meditations on a bicycle ride
I Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV)
Love is patient and kind;
Patience is waiting, not letting yourself be anxious, waiting for God's timing.
Kindness is being good to people because of God's goodness to you; being good to people when they don't deserve it and when they do deserve it.
Love does not envy or boast;
Love does not covet what other people have; it is thankful for what God has given; it is content.
Love is not a braggart; it is not proud; it seeks to honor the people who have contributed to success in life.
It is not arrogant or rude.
Love is not stuck on itself; it can see the needs of others and seek ways to help.
Love does not speak unkindly, or without thought; love thinks about what words and actions do to other people.
It does not insist on its own way;
Love invites other people's ideas with genuine appreciate for them; love is willing to admit that it was wrong and ask forgiveness.
It is not irritable or resentful;
Love does not hold a grudge; love allows for human error and realizes that but for the mercy of God, we would not be able to face the Him in our own righteousness.
It does not rejoice at wrong doing,
Love is not happy when something goes wrong in another persons life. Love is upset when injustice is done. Love does not rejoice in wrong thinking or ideas.
But rejoices with the truth.
Love is jubilant when good things happen, when righteous things happen, when a person turns to the Lord, when a husband and wife come together again, when a family is restored, when right prevails.
Love bears all things,
Love is thinking about and praying for the needs of others; love feels the needs of others; love takes on the weight of the world.
Believes all things,
Love believes that the best is yet to come, God is at work in all situations. Love believes in the faithfulness of God.
Hopes all things,
Love is a forever optimist, hoping against all odds that God still works miracles in lives, that there is more to life than just what we experience here on earth.
Endures all things,
Love is tough; it weathers the storms of emotion, of heartache, of loss. It continues to love inspite of what happens; it continues to love people who can't or don't respond to that love, knowing that love might be the only thing the other person may remember.
Love never ends.
Love is continuous. It doesn't falter, it doesn't fade, it doesn't die. It lives on and always gives.
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