(Lets take it verse by verse)
 Verse 4 Love endures long and is patient
and kind; love never is envious nor boils over
with jealousy,is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is very hard for us to do any of this
in the flesh BUT with the Lord's help we can. I can't say that I do
all this either. It is not easy. We are not to give up and to keep going toward the goal. We need to keep trying. We are all growing in the Lord constantly. Our goal is to become more like Jesus. That is a tough one. You ask how long is long? You have to ask the Lord to show you when enough is enough. Sometimes this can be even years. You just have to ask the Lord to help you endure. It is hard, but just hang on to the Lord. Now there is a bad word. I don't know too many people that have patience all the time. But as we grow in the Lord we get more and more. How? Through our trials. We have a choice on patience. When bad things happen, we can choose to go to the world, alcohol, drugs or other women/men, or we can choose to seek Lord. When we seek Him, He helps us either to go through whatever we are going through or He delivers us. This gives us patience. Are you kind to people? God's kind of love is kind. That doesn't mean kind to only your friends and people you know. That means kind to unlovely people- the homeless or even people with bad tempers, people who are not courteous to you, different races and different countries. Even when our flesh can't love and be kind, with God's love in us we can. Do you envy someone? All of us do at one time or another. They have something we would like to have -- material things and even spiritual. We might wish that we had a car or house like someone. Spiritual envy - that we could be a Christian like a person who sings or a person who teaches. You are jealous of their talent. Here it tells us that love is not envious. That means you can love that person as an equal no matter what they have or what spiritual gifts they have. You love them with the love of Christ no matter what they have or what faults they may have. Some people think this is the same as envy. The dictionary says that envy is - discontent, or ill will at another's good fortune because one wishes it had been his; dislike for a person who has what one wants. Jealousy is- fearful that a person one loves may love or prefer someone else. Jealousy is also an obsession. You can be jealous of what people have also. Jealousy is also being jealous of someone else's attention. They are spending more time with others or their job than with you. Sometimes there are reasons that make a person jealous- like a man working too many hours and ignoring his family. We are not supposed to go around boasting of what we have or what we do. I know sometimes that is hard because we are proud of something we have done.We just don't need to go around telling everyone about what we own. (Now there is a difference if you are bragging about having a new baby, I don't feel there is anything wrong with that.)Its more or less a heart attitude. Haughtily means too proud of oneself and too scornful of others. This is the same as the first of the next verse. The Lord must have really thought this important to have Paul say it twice.
Verse 5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking, it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it (it pays no attention to a suffered wrong). Do you think that you are better than anyone else? When we love with the love of the Lord (we are all equal in His sight), we love everyone equally. We don't think that we are better than anyone else. Are you rude to people? God's love is not rude. That means even when they are rude to you, you are not rude back to them. I know,our flesh gets in there and wants to be rude. Are you rude to drivers in front of you on the road? Are you rude and hateful to a waitress in a restaurant because the food is late. And more than likely it is not her fault. There is a polite way of doing things. Just ask the Lord to show you. One of the ten commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves-so this means when they are rude to us, we are to love them back. Treat them as you want others to treat you(the golden rule). Boy is that hard to do. Here again the more of Jesus in us, the easier it will be. Here are some of the meanings of unbecoming---not appropriate, not fitting, not proper, unwelcome behavior, unsuitable. I think some examples of this might be skirts too high, clothes too tight, getting drunk. I am not judging. I am just stating what some examples might be according to meaning. I think that this says everything. Do you always want your own way or do you think of others? DO you discuss what is to be done and come up with a compromise? Or are you selfish, not thinking of the other person? Do you get your feelings
hurt easy? That is being touchy. Or you get grumpy when someone says
something to you. That is touchy.
Fretful-this is to be unhappy, discontented, or worried. We are not to be these things when we do all in love. We are to put our trust in the Lord.
Resentful- Do you resent others? Maybe someone got that job you wanted, that
promotion. There are a lot of reasons we can be resentful. When we have
God's love in us, we are not to be resentful.
WOW!! That is hard. I know that I have problems with that one sometimes. It is hard not to hurt when someone does things to us. We are to pay no attention to it-as if it hadn't happened. That is hard. We just have to keep working on it. Ask the Lord to help us not to do that. We are suppose to forgive that person so God can work in their life. And we pray for them. Ask the Lord to heal the hurts.
Verse 6 -It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
That means that
we are not glad when something happens to someone else even our enemies. We
are not glad when people do unrighteous things. We are to pray.
We are to be happy when right things happen and when truth prevails over lying and deception. That also means when you are going through a tough time and something good happens to a friend or someone you know, you are to rejoice with them. Even rejoice when good things happen to our enemies. That is harder to do.
Verse 7- Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything (without weakening). No matter what
happens
in our marriages, our relationships to others, love bears up under
everything. I believe we need to seek God as how to handle this because there are situations in which God would not want us to stay.
When we hear
or read things about other people, we are to believe the best of every
person until we know differently.
I like this one.
When we love someone and no matter what they are doing that is wrong, we can
hope. It says hope is fadeless. Never give up hope. And never give up
faith. This is really hard.When we have Jesus and keep our eyes
on Jesus and stay focused on Him and His Word, we can be strong. We need to
stay single-minded.
James tells us in Chapter 1:6-Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering and (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. 7- For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything that he asks for from the Lord.
Verse 8- Love never fails (never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end.).
If we do anything in love, it cannot fail. God's word says it. We have to
believe it and trust God.
This is the way we are to love each other on earth. But God had a much
deeper love for us.
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We are the whosoever. You are the whosoever. God loved you and me so much that He gave His only son to come to earth and die on a cross to save us from our sins. Jesus loved you and me so much that He let Himself be put on a cross and die for our sins. Do you know Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life? It doesn't matter what you have done or what you are. Jesus loves you and wants to save you. Ask Him into your heart.
Say this Prayer-Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that you are the Son of God, that you came to earth and died on the cross to save me of my sins. Jesus, please come into my heart. Be Lord of my life. Help me to serve you the rest of my life. In Jesus' name Amen.
