September 19, 2021
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Sometimes I think it’s a bummer that we really only hear this passage at weddings.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great reading for a wedding! What better event is there to remind people everything love can be? But we can miss out on some really meaningful stuff when we only hear it read by someone’s aunt somewhere between Canon in D and the unity candle lighting.
In fact, Paul didn’t write this passage in the context of a wedding. He was writing to the church in Corinth, which was experiencing some difficulties being in community with one another. In response to this quarreling, he tells them we all have different gifts that can be used in different ways for the sake of the Gospel, and then he shares this passage.
Imagine, for a second, that you’re complaining about a coworker or a family member or a friend, and someone responds to you with “Love is patient; love is kind…” How does that change the way you show up in your relationships? What does it mean for love to rejoice in truth, not wrongdoing? What does it mean for love to bear all things, or hope all things?
When we take on these aspects of love, we reflect the love that God has for us. Because after all, God is patient; God is kind; God is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude…
Reflection
How can you live out these aspects of love in every relationship today?
Prayer
God, we are grateful for the endless outpouring of love that you give us. Help us to reflect that to everyone we meet. Amen.
Brian Schroeder
