Considerations ~ Love vs Loving

God’s book says: 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:4-7).

God’s book does not say: 

“It is loving to be patient and kind; it is loving to not envy or boast; it is loving to not be arrogant or rude. It is loving to not insist on our own way; it is loving to not be irritable or resentful; it is loving to not rejoice at wrongdoing, but to rejoice with the truth. It is loving to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things.” 

What’s the difference?

The first tells us what love is and what it does; the second tells us what loving behavior is, and what loving people do.

The first puts the emphasis on love itself, and what love will do to everyone who has it; the second puts the emphasis on behavior, and what we need to do to qualify as loving people.

The first puts the source where it belongs, in the necessity of having God's love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5); the second puts the source in ourselves as loving people, and necessitates us doing the loving things.

God’s book tells us what fruit to expect from those who are filled with the Holy Spirit (the means by which God pours his love into our hearts). The first color of the spectrum of the Spirit’s fruit in our lives is, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Galatians 5:22).

To express the love described in I Corinthians 13, we must experience the Spirit of the living God filling us with this love. When we have this love, we will show this love. Simple (but not easy) as that.

© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)