LIVES CHARACTERISED BY LOVE

It is a fascinating exercise to read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and to replace the word ‘love’ with ‘Jesus’. The result is a fine character description of our Lord.

Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, Jesus does not envy, Jesus does not boast, Jesus is not proud, Jesus is not rude, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs, Jesus does not delight in evil, Jesus rejoices with the truth, Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails.

Now here is an equally fascinating suggestion. This time, make it personal. Read the whole list like this: ‘I am patient, I am kind, I do not envy’–and so on. Can you make it to the end? You will probably feel embarrassed about doing this.

Seriously, if we really are living in the image of God, with a sense of dignity and self-mastery, our lives should be characterised by patience, kindness, humility, politeness and so on.

Of course, when we reach the last phrase (‘love never fails’) we may have a problem. None of us has reached that happy state yet.

But for the rest, it really should be generally true.

To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.

Posted in Living In The Image of God, Word for the Week.

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