Embraced

“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.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The kind of love described here requires sacrifice.  To be patient is to willingly give up our own time to give another person the time they need.  Kindness to others often comes at the expense of ourselves and what we want.  To not envy means to be happy for a person who has something better than we have, rather than wanting to have it for ourselves.  

And the list goes on.  No wonder we so rarely see 1 Corinthians 13 love in practice.  It’s just so hard.  

But imagine what our relationships would look like if we loved each other this way, if we were willing to sacrifice our own wants and our own reputations to protect others.  In Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby says, “Christlike love leaves no doubt in the mind of another that you will continue to love steadfastly.  Do those close to you know that they can fail and do foolish things, yet you will not falter in your love for them?  Are others assured that, even when they hurt you, you still love them, holding nothing against them?”

Back to our penguins.  Why are the males wintering on the unprotected ice in the first place?  In the colder months as the ice shelf expands, the distance between the breeding grounds and open waters increases to a distance baby chicks could never travel.  Penguin dads give up their opportunity to fish, instead choosing to stand against the cold and the winds and the hunger all winter so that their chicks are in the right place when they hatch in the spring.  They stay on the ice sacrificially; they stay in order to give life to another.  

How willing are we to love others like that?

Questions: 

• What person in your life has best shown 1 Corinthians 13:7 love to you (Always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres)?

• Which part of loving people is most/least difficult for you?  (Impatience, unkindness, boasting, pride, anger, keeping record of wrongs, etc.) Why?

• When have you loved someone sacrificially, meaning you paid a personal price in order to stand by them and maintain your relationship with them?  Who is someone you need to do this for in your life right now?

Prayer: Spend some time in prayer thanking God for those people He has placed into your life that have shown you love.  Ask Him to help you to love those around you in a way that ‘leaves no doubt…that you will continue to love steadfastly.’