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. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-13 NIV)

 Why is it that all of life can be summarized in this one word, love? Jesus said that all of Scripture is distilled into love for God and love for people. The Apostle Paul instructs us that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love. Above, we read that nothing is greater than love.

None of this should surprise us. God is love. It’s not just something he esteems as a good habit—it’s the essence of who he is. It’s the last thing about which we should be casual. Last week’s prayer emphasis reminded us that God intends to draw all people together in a way that obliterates boundaries that we often use to divide and segregate. When we draw toward one another, what should that look like? In a word, love.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” Whatever cost may come with it, love is worth it.

Prayer for the Week

Dear Jesus, you have made love clear. You modeled it perfectly, even at great cost to yourself. Thank you for not leaving us confused on what it is that love requires of us. We ask that you open our eyes to every opportunity. May we be people who refuse tolerate merely tolerating people. When we find that we have settled for tolerating, help us to repent quickly. By your Spirit, please continue to form us to be like you, so that we can love all others in the same way we are loved by you. Amen.