“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.” [1 Corinthians 13:4-7 MSG]
REFLECTION
Creative love. I heard these two words while watching a clip from the Bible Project [https://youtu.be/3EkD-alQhT8?si=ut-Y9YTf5Yk2t-YI]…and I was stirred and inspired to prayerfully find creative ways to love people. It also reminded me that while all human relationships — even the best ones — are not without issues and challenges, but that retreating from really connecting with people only leads to the horrors of a selfish, sin-soaked reality that leads to misery unspeakable. I know this because I’ve experienced both. I am infinitely grateful that as I began to make my relationship with God my number one priority, a desire to serve / help others began to bud within my heart and as this desire grew, by His grace, so did my capacity to love in creative ways, even when it was costly. And I discovered that when our focus is on loving our Maker and those He made, love begins to bloom within our own hearts. Oh, let’s lean in and learn from the One who loved us first and loves us best, that we may be blessed in love and point many to our ever loving Lord, who is the Hero of every redemption story — to Him be all the glory!
PRAYER POEM
Loving Lord, thank You for loving me so perfectly. May loving You always be my number one priority. Open my eyes to see precious people as You see them, and help me love them in creative ways for the rest of my days.
