![]() ![]() Jesus sets the example of how we are to love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus Himself said that His disciples are to be distinguished by their love: “A new command I give you: Love one another. Love is the prevailing attitude that Christians are to demonstrate toward one another and all humankind. And again, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (verse 32). To the Ephesians, Paul said, “Be completely humble and gentle be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Paul taught the Romans, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (Romans 12:10, NLT). Love is the ecosystem in which our lives as believers operate and thrive. Essential as these gifts are to the church, they are worthless without love. Without love, all the other gifts of the Spirit fall short of the mark. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. Paul wanted to emphasize and remind the Corinthians that everything they did must be accompanied by love.Įarlier in his letter, Paul pointed out the “the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31–13:13), teaching that love is the most valuable of all the gifts of the Spirit: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Among other things, He had dealt with divisions and quarreling among members (1 Corinthians 3), lawsuits between believers (1 Corinthians 6:1–8), selfishness at the Lord’s communion table (1 Corinthians 11:17–34), jealousy over spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14), and disorderly worship (1 Corinthians 14:26–40). In his command to let all be done with love, it was as if Paul glanced back to consider everything he had addressed in his letter to the Corinthian church. Love requires an unconditional commitment to the loved one. When Paul stated, “Let all that you do be done with love,” he had in mind the goodwill and benevolence that shows itself in self-sacrifice. Love for God and fellow humans is to inspire and govern everything we do. Paul had repeatedly underscored this principle to the Corinthians so that they would always remember to let love be their highest goal (1 Corinthians 14:1). Two are better than one, but when the Spirit of God is in that relationship, it’s like having “a threefold cord,” and that’s not “quickly broken.In the closing verses of his first epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul returned to the theme of loving God and loving others as the believer’s ultimate ambition: “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14, ESV). For example, “a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Now extend that into the field of human relations. I’ve never seen any two legged stools because they’re not practical. When you love someone, you can truly bear things much better you can believe the best in your mate, you can have hopes in your loved one and you can endure much better when you have someone you love. The Apostle Paul gave one of the best descriptions of love in the Bible, writing, “ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). This surely sounds like an unrelenting love. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me” (Song of Solomon 3:4). In it, Solomon writes in the third person, “Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. The Song of Solomon is one of the most romantic books in the Bible. That shows how strong his love was for her. That meant Jacob spent fourteen years to finally be able to wed Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel” (Genesis 29:18). Such was the case for Jacob who worked seven years for his wife, but it was for the wrong wife (Leah), but “Jacob loved Rachel. There is no greater motivator than love….even over money. Such acts enabled their love to grow for one another. ![]() Just being there for Isaac, Rebekah was able to comfort her husband. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death” (Genesis 24:67). Just after Isaac’s mother died, “Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. The same thing goes for Isaac who had just lost his mother, Sarah. When we fall in love, we find comfort when we need it, particularly when we’ve experienced a loss. Here are 5 stories from the Bible about falling in love. ![]() 5 Stories From The Bible About Falling In Love ![]()
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