4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
Ok.Let's stick with yesterday's definition of love: unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another.
vs. 4:
love is patient - let's define patient... (1) bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint (2) manifesting forebearance under provocation or strain (3) not hasty or impetuous (4) steadfast,despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.
oh boy...
love is kind - kind... of a sympathetic or helpful nature; of a forebearing nature - gentle; arising from or characterized by sympathy or forebearance.
and is not jealous - jealous... (1) intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness (2) hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
love does not brag - brag... cockiness in speech; proud words
and is not arrogant - arrogant... exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own wealth or importance, often by an overbearing manner
Ok so based on all this: that verse really reads like this:
Unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another bears pains or trials calmly and without complaint,and is steadfast even under provocation or strain, and in the face of difficulty, opposition,or adversity; it is gentle and is characterized by forebearance and a sympathetic nature and is not intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness, nor is it hostile toward a rival or one believed to have an advantage. Unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another is not cocky in speech or proud in its words, and does not exaggerate it's own wealth or importance, especially not in an overbearing way.
Good grief. This is just verse FOUR. There are still two more to go, man!
vs 5:
does not act unbecomingly - unbecomingly... not according with the standards appropriate to one's position or condition of life
it does not seek its own - self-seeking... the act or practice of selfishly advancing one's own ends
is not provoked - provoked ... (1) to arouse a feeling or action; to incite to anger (2) to stir up purposely
does not take into account a wrong suffered - two definitions here: wrong... (1) an injurious, unfair, or unjust act (2) something wrong, immoral or unethical; suffered... (1) to submit to or be forced to endure; to feel keenly, labor under (2) to endure death, pain or distress (3) to sustain loss or damage
Which leads us to:
Unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another does not act in a way not in line with the standards dictated by its position or life condition; it does not act in a way or put into practice things that selfishly advance it's own ends, nor does it become aroused or incited to anger or purposely stirred up. Unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another also does not take into account injurious, unfair or unjust acts - even of an immoral or unethical nature - that it has been forced to submit to or to endure, even when keenly felt and labored under and even it sustains loss or damage as a result.
*Alright. only one more verse to go. Then I'm gonna have to sit and try and digest all of this information. Goodness gracious.*
vs. 6:
does not rejoice in unrighteousness... again, two definitions here: rejoice... to feel joy or great delight; unrighteousness... sin or wickedness
but rejoices with the truth - truth... (1)sincerity in action, character, and utterance (2) the body of real things, events, facts (3) a transcedent (incomprehensible) fundamental (ingrained) or spiritual reality
The end result of those few lines being this:
Unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to what best serves another does not take joy or delight in sin or wickedness, but does take joy in all things, as part of what it knows to be be an incomprehensible, ingrained spiritual reality - a reality rooted in real things facts and events (even if unseen) that eventually manifests themselves in action, character and utterance (speech).
Goodness. There is so much just in these three verses. SO much.
What it's boiling down to, right now at this moment in my heart, is that in order to fully grasp, embrace and obey verses 4 & 5, you have have to understand the depth and accept the revelation of verse six. Love cannot do any of the things in the first two verses if it doesn't look beyond the natural to see the spiritual truth of any circumstance or situation that would cause the sort of love previously mentioned to be necessary.
Which then also puts into perspective verses one through three. Beause if you have all this knowledge and make all this sacrifice but you dont do it with a heart that understands and welcomes the spiritual impact of yoru acts, then you aren't really loving. And the lack of proper motive becomes obvious, because when it's time to go through the fire, you cant sustain the facade at the highest of heat. Because the only way to stand in that sort of heat and to come out better than when you went in, is to have God's perspective and to hold it close so that in the midst of the heat, you can act with that unrestricted loyalty and unwavering commitment to your obejects best interests.
You gotta understand the spiritual truths to understand the true requirements of love.
And then, when you understand that truth, you are - as an act of faith and submission in your own heart to God (not to mention gratefulness and understanding of His gift to you) - expected to behave in a way that allows the truth you know to reveal itself in the natural.
Which, if you think about it, makes pefect sense. Because when you know you are cared for completely, it becomes impossible to NOT respond to what's being offered. Love is so selfless and so focused on the receipient that, when its all said and done, they don't have much option but to respond to what's being given to them.
Wow...
So. Love is not an emotion. It is a choice. One that can only be made as a result of understanding the deeper truths at work in our lives to bring about natural evidence of an internal adjusment in our spirits. (The fact that love is not an emotion, i knew that... but i never really dug in to understand how its'a choice and WHY it has to be a choice we make and not something that we feel.)
I have read this passage of scripture so much. And I took for granted what it meant.
This is a whole lotta revelation. And a serious challenge.
I'm convicted. God told me I would be....
wow...
i'm outta here. Got some thinkin' and prayin' to do... wow...
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