The Power of Love

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. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Today’s Reading: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

I’ve been thinking about these passages for the past several days and they have left me awestruck. I had always read about the spiritual gifts in chapter 12 and then about love in chapter 13 but never had I paid attention to the last sentence of the 12th chapter.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way. – 1 Corinthians 12:31

And then something that I have known in my spirit to be true was just spoken clearly in the text.

Love is the most excellent way.

Love is the fuel behind all positive action. Love builds and heals. Love creates and nurtures. Love is the source of our best selves. It is what motivates us to act outside of our selfish desires. It is the mother of empathy, charity, and sacrifice.

But as I read it in the context of spiritual gifts I was fascinated. The gifts are quite powerful indeed, healing, prophecy, knowledge of the past and future. They are the kinds of things that superhero stories are made of. But the notion that the source of that miraculous power is love is something that really speaks to the potential that we have to transform our world.

If we learn to love then everything will change.

It all fits in so nicely with what Jesus was trying to say. He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves and even to love our enemies. And he provided, through his life, and example for us to strive toward.

He also did all kinds of fancy miracles. He healed the sick, turned water into wine, walked on water, knew people’s past and future. His life was filed with amazing things; so much so that it seems like it must be a fairytale. To the casual observer it must seem hard to believe.

But tell me this. What is harder to do? Is it harder to love your enemies or heal the sick? Is it harder to love your neighbor or walk on water?

They are equally difficult.

What I am starting to see now is that both sides, love and the miraculous, are two sides of the same coin. We would become powerful beyond measure if only we could learn to love. Our love is purest when we allow God to work in us; when we act with the freedom of complete obedience to our purpose.

This is inspiration.

“The Way” is becoming clearer to me now. If you want to achieve the impossible, pursue the dreams that you have in your heart for your life, then first you must pursue love. And through your ability to love others and yourself you will find the power to make all of your dreams come true.

And odds are that powerful love will mold and shape those dreams as well…

From the inside out you will become brand new.

Brand New

"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. - John 12: 23-25

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 13-14; John 12:1-26

There are many tricky metaphors that Jesus uses that have so many different applications. This metaphor of a seed is fascinating to me.

He talks about the seed dying to produce many seeds. I’ve never thought about seeds dying before. Seeds, to me, have always been objects that you put in the ground to make something grow. But the more I think about it, the more I see His point. The seed is a particular state of being. It is a first step in a process of actualization. But in order for that seed to reach its full potential it can not remain a seed.

This is true for us too. As we attempt to grow into who we always wanted to be we have to remember that much of who we are must be shed.

Self actualizing is a process that involves many deaths; but with each death comes a rebirth of a new, greater, more capable self.

We become brand new.

But in order to make that transformation we must first die to our old ways of being and thinking.

We cannot continue to crawl on the ground once we have sprouted wings.

P.S. Parental advisory suggested ;)