Lord Jesus, this is sobering, convicting, and it makes the Gospel precious and essential: “I am nothing without love.” No matter the culture, moment, or language, to be loveless is to be nothing: Croatian: ništa, Danish: intet, French: rien, German: nichts, Finnish: mitättömyys, Czech: nic, Dutch: niets, Spanish: nada, Italian: niente. What does this kind (your kind) of love look like?
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable and doesn’t keep a record of being wronged; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
Every phrase in this passage drives me to you—for mercy, forgiveness, fresh grace, and power to love others as you love us. Fortunately, we’re not saved to the degree we love like this, but to the degree you love us like this, which is 100%.
I’m struggling with not “keeping a record of being wronged,” and love “believes all things.” I know you’re not calling us to have amnesia about how we’ve been hurt, or to pretend like things didn’t happen. But you are calling us to forgive from the heart and love everyone “as unto you”–as an act of worship. Help me, Jesus. Free me. Fill me afresh with your Holy Spirit.
And about the issue of love “believes all things”—bring me back to the place of assuming the best of others and situations, not the worse. I don’t want to be foolishly naïve; but even less do I want to be always suspicious, overly guarded, easily cynical, and unwilling to trust. Jesus, you are always present and always at work in every situation, no exceptions. Thank you, and … So Very Amen.