What Is Love
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
I think one of everyone’s favorite breakfast club jokes is the one about Clearly and Lorraine. You know, the boy falls in love with Lorraine and thinks it is the greatest thing ever. But then he tells Lorraine he loves her and things start to go down hill - she gets clingy and annoying and he’s not sure he made the right choice. Then he meets a girl named Clearly who he is much more drawn to than Lorraine, but he doesn’t know how to dump Lorraine.
One dark and stormy night, he and Lorraine are walking along the river and they see something in the water. As Lorraine leans over to look at it, a gust of wind blows her into the water, never to be seen again. The boy, trying to make the best out of every situation, thinks for a minute and then says, “I can see Clearly now, Lorraine is gone.”
Every time Jimboy and David Vining tell that joke, they always emphasize how big the “L” word is. We’re so quick to think we know what that feels like. A crush quickly turns to “love.” And the next think you know, you’re making choices based on the fact that you “love” that boy… You might change how you act around him, or what kind of clothes you wear. You might change who you hang out with so that he will like you more. I know girls that have not gone to the college they wanted to, because their boyfriend who they “loved” was going to a different one! When it is really love, that much commitment is great - that’s what marriage is! But what is love? How do you actually know?
The Bible gives it to us right here! Wow- what a lot of things love is! If you’re trying to decide if you actually love someone, God has provided a check-list for you right here.
Are you patient with that person? Are you kind? Are you self-seeking? Do you keep record of wrongs? That one is a hard one for me!
Now, no one is perfect, and so you will not always perfectly exemplify love in any relationship. But this is a good little list to keep in mind!
God is all of these things for us - He is patient with us and kind to us and He keeps no record of our wrongs! And in John 15:12, He commands us to love others as He has loved us!
So when we are to a point where we want the “L” word to describe our relationship with someone, we should strive to love them with every character trait on this list, and they should do the same for you. And until then, we should remember that God loves us more than anyone on this planet possibly could.