Saying “I love you” has become so cheap. I love ice cream. I love going on vacation. I love puppies. But what does love really mean? The love that my soul cries out for, the love I was created for. What is it?
Here are my observations and my paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:
God showed me today. I sat down to have my time with Him as I do every morning and we opened up the Word and went to 1 Corinthians 13. First, we see that there are several types of love. Eros is the erotic, sensual love. It’s romantic and full of emotion. Storge refers to family love, like between parent and child. Philia speaks of affection and friendship, probably the highest level of love that man on his own is capable of. Me? I want that agape love. A love that is unchanging, unconditional. I want God to love this agape love through me because I’m sure not able on my own.
Love is not a feeling but more of an action.
It means I choose you.
I am set on you.
I endure with you, for you.
I will serve you.
I won’t bubble over or blow up when I get angry.
I won’t be a show-off who needs attention, or a proud puffed-up arrogant creep.
I won’t demand my own way.
I won’t try to make you angry.
I won’t count up and hold onto all of the wrongs committed against me and cling to the hurt.
Instead I will share in God’s grace with you, His grace that extends to both of us.
I will endure in every condition, be confident in every situation, actively wait for God’s fulfillment in every moment, and remain steadfast in God‘s power.
Never will I walk away.
Never will I allow this to end, because I choose you.
That is what Jesus does for me and when I say “I love you”, that is my choice for you.
How grateful I am that God doesn’t waste anything, even when I do my best to mess it up. And He began it all by reminding me of how He loves me, by painting the picture of 1 Corinthians 13. Slowly, steadily, He’s transforming me from the inside out, teaching me how to live, how to love.
I love you. It’s more than just words...
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