“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all that I possess to the poor, and surrender my body over to hardships that I may boast of them, but do not have love, I achieve nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”
1 Corinthians 13:1-8
I wish more preachers harped on this passage. It is the central issue of the Christian faith as exemplified by the life and sacrifice of Jesus. A lifetime can be spent learning to live with this as one’s focus in life.
We churchgoers are more often exhorted to focus on our personal “holiness.” The trouble is, good behavior is easily a cover for a stubborn, unloving heart. After all, the well-behaved Pharisees were the ones who couldn’t tolerate the loving Jesus and got rid of him.
Love my enemies ? Love my irritating neighbor ? Yes and no, this is not the same love as for a family member but rather a forgiving and not breaking the 10 commandments against the transgressor kind of love. Occasionally some folks need the kind of love Jesus handed out to the money changers in the temple, tough love. I agree that some of the most unloving people you will ever meet are hard core Christian “legalistic” types, modern day Pharisees. Just my 2 cents Gayle.