“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Cor. 13.4-7)
Monday– “If I have not love…(1 Corinthians 13.1-3)
Each day this week read, ponder, pray and live into these words. They were written by Paul to a cluster of house groups in Corinth where love was at times conspicuous by its absence – especially at the Lord’s table, the one place where love should be obviously on show. Love is the hallmark of Christian character. Love is the identifying barcode of Christian behaviour. Love is the QR, the Quick Response Code of Christian relationships and community. Paul is very clear – without love there is no credibility in our holiness, or our spirituality, or even our costly acts of devotion. This is a week for self-assessment in the light of Paul’s description of the love of Jesus, and the answering love of his followers.
Tuesday – “Love is patient…”
Love is not just a feeling. Love is dynamic, active, it is emotion expressed in action. To act patiently is not just to ‘put up with’ someone, it is to take time to listen and understand, to refuse to rush to judgement and hard words. Love is slow to anger, careful with words, respectful of this other person whom God loves and whom God has called me, at this moment, to act for their good, not mine.
Lord, give me patience – now! Or, at least, teach me and enable me to wait, to listen, to try to understand, and therefore to love.
Wednesday – “Love is kind…”
Sometimes love has to be learned a phrase at a time. The dynamic of kindness is to act kindly, to practice kindness, to see the world with compassion, care and a readiness to enact the compassion we feel. Kindness is a willingness to be inconvenienced by someone else’s need. Kindness involves our feelings about others, and our responsiveness to the grace of God nudging us away from our own interests, to look after the interests of someone else.
“Lord, open my eyes to see, open my heart to feel your care for others, then open my arms in generous welcome.”
Thursday – “Love does not envy…”
The community in Corinth was riddled with rivalry, competitiveness about spiritual gifts, the ugliness of spiritual showing off whether in the ‘higher’ spiritual gifts, or the social status and wealth being paraded at the Lord’s Supper. Envy is one of the most corrosive forms of self-concern and self-promotion. Envy is the habit of comparing ourselves or our situation to others, and resenting the difference. Envy dissolves away in a climate of love, because love sees the other as they are, and thanks God for them.
“Lord when I compare myself with other people, teach me to be grateful for them, and grateful that you love me as I am.
Friday – “Love does not boast…”
Love does not boast because if there is love for God and love for others in our hearts, then we will be well aware of our own worth. That is, “We will not think of ourselves more highly than we ought.” As Christians we are what we are by the grace of God. None of us are self-made, we are graced into being by the transforming love of God in Christ, and sustained by the work of the Holy Spirit making us new in Christ. The fruit of the Spirit doesn’t grow on trees – it grows on the heart humble enough to trust and rejoice in the renewing life of Christ in us. “Lord, may I boast in nothing, except the glory and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Saturday – “Love is not proud…”
I love the older phrase – “Love is not puffed up.” We have all encountered the over-inflated ego, the person who can’t see past their own importance. There were plenty of those in Corinth, and we may well have been amongst them! Really? Perhaps our reluctance to detect pride in ourselves is itself a covert form of pride. Paul has in mind attention seeking behaviour, a distorted opinion of our own spirituality, or our place in the community.
“Lord, teach me humility and honesty, and make me more self-aware.”
Sunday – “Love does not dishonour others…”
One translation sounds very posh, but is absolutely bang on: “Love does not behave with ill-mannered impropriety…!” Do we really need that spelling out? Paul means courtesy, respect for persons, good will and consideration for others’ feelings. Love never feels clever for having found the perfect put-down. “Lord, I know love is about more than good manners; but it is never less than that. Make me a safe presence for others.”
Photos.
July in the Aberdeen Botanic Gardens
Closeup of meadow flowers at the village of Skene
Illustration from Good News Bible by Annie Vallotton, who did all the illustrations for the GNB. I think she was a brilliant artist whose images combine simplicity and beauty.
Close-up of heather growing through rocks. And I took it just because!
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