1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;a]">[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languagesb]">[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.c]">[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Did you read all of that? It's really important...However, if you didn't, I want to especially highlight and point out verses 4-7 and the last one, 13. There is sooo much that you can take from that passage, but today, with Christmas coming up, I want to stress one specific point about love. Agape love: it is the unconditional love of God that He exampled when He sent His one and only Son to earth to die on the cross for us. This sort of love calls for us to love one another without care for what anybody has to offer us. Even if people don't seem to like you, you are called to love them. They can trash you, talk behind your back, ignore you, or even beat up on you, but love them anyways...Forgive them of all their wrongs, help them through their misunderstandings, their issues, serve them, call them out on things we know they did incorrectly, guide them, influence them, gift them....Just love them. Plain and simple, as Jesus loves the church, and as God loves His creation. This is no easy task, but it is a challenge that God has charged us with, and is all that he asks us to offer: to Him, your family, and all of his creation. If nothing else, give agape love this Christmas, this month, this (and next) year, and throughout this, YOUR life....I Love you!
For Real
~ Kiana
