have not love
"if i speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. and if i have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if i have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, i am nothing. if i give away all i have, and if i deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, i gain nothing." I Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)these words are so familiar both in our faith as well as in our culture. we refer to this chapter of scripture in weddings, funerals, valentine's day cards, love letters, in messages about volunteering at local and int'l NGO's, in messages about spiritual maturity. this passage is deeply embedded on the surface of our minds, yet more often than not, the essence of these words are found too far from our actions. i am definitely no stranger to this.
last night, i am in my bedroom, organizing all of my class notes and shopping online, spending hundreds of dollars on textbooks. there are papers everywhere, all over the desk and floor. my eyes were strained from re-writing all of the notes from my first week of classes. i am slouched over the computer, when my best friend comes in. something had happened at school earlier that day, leaving her hurt and emotionally unsettled. now, in most instances, i would be able to stop what i was doing to lend an ear and an embrace. instead, i hardly even looked up at her as she was talking. in my heart, i felt this sense of entitlement - i am in school, i am busy, i am not going to have time to do any of this the rest of the week, i have no time for nonsene. how ironic and even pathetic that i, a student in pursuit of a counseling degree, would hardly even give her BEST FRIEND the time of day in a moment of need. what's worse is that, when i did look up in attempts to give her what little counsel i knew to give, she looked at me and simply said, "i don't need you to fix the problem, i just want you to listen."
ouch.
"the wider the gap between what we believe and how we behave, the greater the discord in your life." -professor james long (my psychology prof)
i believe a lot of good stuff, biblical stuff. in fact, i can quote scripture and doctrine with the best of them. yet if i have not love, i am nothing. and in this life, i do not simply want to love, but to love greatly - the kind of love that Jesus describes in John 15:13, the kind of love that gives all. i must marry what i believe with how i behave, and if not, what good am i to my best friend, let alone the rest of the world?
4 Comments:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2nd Cor 12:9
And just so you know, loving well is not your weakness. most.
Miriam, i have to agree with Caitie. I don't think that loving (people, God, music, coffee, etc) is one of your weaknesses. You are one of the most loving and passionate people i know. I think that sometimes we just get caught up in the things of the flesh (our schoolwork, our problems, our happiness) that we..i really don't like using this word but...forget (cringe) or neglect others around us.
Anyways, i LOVE Caitie's verse, but this verse made me think of you.
Zephaniah 3:17
"The LORD you God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Mir - I really enjoyed your thoughts on this. I'm excited to know you are pursuing counseling others and I pray that brings you into a greater freedom yourself too. Would love to chat soon. Love you friend!
Caitie is correct.
(I also find it hard to get in my heart)
oxoxoxo
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