1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 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 have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;

5 it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;

6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.

7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues,
they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;

10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part;
then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.

13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is such a confusing word. It is carelessly used and exploited. It is said frivolously and insincerely at times. A person will say that they "love" ice cream or "love" football". The word love is used in the Wedding Ceremony and meant to last till death do they part and then the marriage ends in divorce. Why? It is so confusing when you think about it.

God created this world and man with love for all to enjoy and love each other. But man constantly tears at this world and the concept of love with wars, divorce, physical abuse, and murder. Looking at the above chapter from the Bible, it is clear that the state of our society today and in the past is not what God intended.

God gave man free choice to follow Him or another path and so many people choose the "other" path. The "other" path being sin and listening to Satan instead of the Lord, our God. Satan is using these negative forces to lead man astray.

God created Man and Woman; He loved them and they loved Him. Marriage is a loving and sacred union between a man and a woman. It is blessed by God and meant to be a life long commitment. Too many people enter into marriage lightly and figure if it doesn't work out then they can just get a divorce. This is NOT what God intended!

A husband's duty is "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" Ephesians 5:25. A wife's duty is " Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord" Ephesians 5:22. A husband and wife are to love, respect, and support each other. If a marriage is to last a lifetime, each person has to make the other as happy as they want to be.

The spiritual relationship between parents and children is also defined by God. Parents are to instruct their children on the word of God and how to grow up to be fine adults. Proverbs 13:24 says "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." Parents should love their children enough to discipline them and not let them run wild without instruction.

Children are also commanded by God to "obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right" Ephesians 6:1. Children should look to their parents for love and guidance. From infancy, children depend on their parents for everything. As a child grows and learns, they still need to continue this dependence to complete their learning.

Friendships must also be spiritually based in order to thrive. Would you rather have a friend that would lie to you to save your feelings or a friend that would tell you the truth even though it may hurt you at the time? I know which I would have. Truth from a friend, even a hurting truth, is easier to hear than hearing it from a stranger or enemy. I know there have been times when I friend will tell me something that I don't want to hear, but later when I think on it, I realize that they are right and have my best interests at heart.

The words of love in 1 Corinthians 4 through 8 really apply to any relationship. As Christians, we are all God's children and brothers and sisters. I am sure God wants us to have a loving relationship with all people not just our family and friends.

The only problem is that Satan has his hands in everything trying to destroy all that is good. Sure we want to love our neighbor as ourselves, but unkind words, associations with nonbelievers, racial hate, and greed are some of the weapons that Satan uses to lead us astray of the Lord's teachings.

We must take a stand against Satan; "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he who promised is faithful" Hebrews 10:23. Our love of the Lord and each other is strong and can overcome sin and evil if we stand firm in our faith.

Continue to have faith and pray daily. Practice the teaching of 1 Corinthians 13 and let the Holy Spirit guide your heart, mind, body, and spirit to do good.

When Jesus comes again, where will you spend eternity? At His right hand in heaven? I certainly hope so. That is where intend to be.

- Author Terri aka christian_mom98