Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We established from my earlier post that Love (Agape) is an action not just an emotion or feeling. Now Paul goes into further detail, what is the actions of Love. We got used to reading other English translations of this Chapter, sometimes it’s good to look at another translation like KJV, to get more context. 

Again we see the original Greek word Agape translated as Charity instead of the commonly translated Love, to demonstrate an action. Love is patient has become as popular as any bumper sticker, how about Charity suffereth long. Doesn’t sound as catchy, however gives some deeper context. Patience can be difficult, sometimes even suffering. Do we have the patience of Christ? 

When we see Paul describing Love here, as not envious, not puffed up, not proud, we get the message conveyed here, Love is self sacrificial, that’s a true understanding of Agape. Denying yourself for the greater good, where does that sound familiar? Oh yes that’s the gospel, the Love Christ has demonstrated to us on the cross (Romans 5:8)

And true Love seeks righteousness, rejoices not in iniquity, thinking not of evil, but rejoices in truth. The world has no true understanding of Love by these definitions. The world tells you Love is Love, but rejoices in its own iniquity, the world’s love thinks and celebrates its evil. The world’s love is self seeking and puffed up with pride. Satan’s Love is a false and deceptive Love, it’s not really Love at all, just perception

The Apostle Paul gives us a clear view and definition of what Love is by God’s standards. The world could never know or understand this love without the Holy Spirit, as God is Love. The world offers a false Love that is self worshiping and destructive.

True Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things!  True Love is only found through our Lord Jesus Christ, who demonstrated His Love for us on the cross, Amen!