Skip to main content

Love Never Fails

 After Saul (Paul) was converted from Judaism, in which he was a trained priest, to Christianity on the road to Damascus, he spent a few years learning how to be a better person for God's new work in Christ. After God prepared him, Paul started preaching the Good News to people in different cities. One of those cities was Corinth in Greece. When Paul needed to correct - or praise - some teachings of the churches that were established in these cities but couldn't get back to them right away, he would write them letters. One of these letters (often called epistles) is called I Corinthians in the Holy Bible. 

The message I want to bring to your attention today is what Paul was telling this church about love. He told them in verse 16:14 to, "Do everything with love." (NLT) The NKJV read as, "Let all that you do be done with love." What a difference we could make in the world if we could all follow this beautiful advice. 

In the same Book of I Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV), Paul also wrote, "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."

love always wins
Image courtesy of Leighann Blackwood via Unsplash

The world is full of sin, and Corinth was a model of these sins - a breeding ground for sin if you will. So much so that the new Christians of this time were  unsure how to react. There was already a conflict in the way the new Christians living in a pagan city should act. They certainly weren't reacting in loving ways. So, Paul explained that love was the answer to their problems. The same is true today. Really let this sink in as you go about your days.

Do you anger easily? Is it because someone stepped on your ego? Is it because someone else is getting the attention you think you deserve? Read the passages I've highlighted above. Let them fill your heart. Be patient. Be kind. Don't be envious. Don't brag on yourself. Don't do nice things to receive something in return. Do nice things because people need kindness. Don't be proud so as to dishonor others. Don't be selfish or keep a record of others' wrongs. 

In doing these loving things, you won't become angry as often. You will be able to uplift others instead of envy them. I think you get the idea. If love doesn't fully take over your heart, you will run people off and you will be miserable. You're miserable because love is a command from God. Love is supposed to be a natural reaction to a sinful world. Being unkind is unnatural, and that's what causes the misery. So, take this news to heart today. Practice it, and your miseries will melt away.

Have a blessed day,

Patricia

Comments

Other Posts You Might Like

New Christian T-shirts Designed and Listed on Etsy

I just finished designing a couple of Christian T-shirts and listing them on Etsy. You can read more about these and keep up with new arrivals on my Digital Potpourri Blog. If you have a custom request, you can contact us via Etsy messages . We'll be happy to try to produce a t-shirt to your liking as long as there is nothing profane, vulgar, immoral, licensed, trademarked or involving hate related to the design. One of the tees reads Love Obey Trust with bible books, chapters, and verses that coincide with these words. The other states God Lives Here with "Here" inside a heart shaped from mini hearts. So, basically 2 messages. God Lives and He lives in our hearts. 😇 Thanks for dropping by to read my updates today, Patricia

Finally a Few Nice Days in a Row

I've been waiting and waiting for spring temps to arrive for more than a couple of days without rain. And this is the week! We finally have some color in the yard and on our deck. So, I want to share what my husband, son, and I have been up to for the last few days. First of all, we had our first cookout on Sunday, April 28 to celebrate our younger son's birthday. That officially kicks off spring. I mixed the first batch of hummingbird nectar a couple of weeks ago, hoping the males would take advantage while the females were tending to their nests. As far as we can tell, 1 male has visited twice. Of course, we can't look out the window all of the time. But we do look out frequently. And we hang them in 2 locations that we can see directly from the kitchen windows. The rose bushes started blooming about a week ago, and I finally had time to take pictures of them. I pulled out the grass and weeds that were growing around them a couple of hours after I took the front-facing ...

Image Pixels to Inches, Flip Image, and Increasing DPI

Image Pixels to Inches, Flip Image, and Increasing DPI These are simple tips I want to share with those of you who are like me and do not have fancy programs to help when needing to convert pixels to inches, find out how many pixels an image has, and increase DPIs for better print quality. My tips are based on a Windows 11 OS and may not work on other systems. However, you may be able to do an internet search to explore your OS options based on the information I have provided below. I do not receive any compensation from these two sites listed. I use them because they are easy, free, and safe to use. These tips are helpful if you need to quickly figure how many pixels you need for a certain number of inches so you can print the right size every time without guessing and wasting printer ink until you do get it right. Also, sometimes, a print needs to be flipped (mirrored, reversed) for transfers. And last but not least, if you’re selling printable items, a higher DPI is needed for ...