What is Love? Part I
Heart Prep
God, help me to learn what true love is and help me to wait on You to send the right kind of guy to me.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
What is Love?
You may already know and love God as your true love, but still you long for a boyfriend. And that is okay. In fact, it’s perfectly normal to want to be in a relationship. We are designed to be in relationships with other people. It is God’s design for a man and a woman to join in marriage, multiply, and fill the Earth with more people who are raised to know and love Him. But, it’s important to remember that every guy you date may be someone’s future husband. When you are old enough to date (and your parents agree!), it is important to keep in mind what true love looks like.
1 Corinthians 13 gives us a long list of the characteristics of love. Someone once told me to put the name of the guy I had a crush on into each verse to see if he exhibits real love. You should do the same! Let’s go through a few things on this list together.
Love is patient - Is he patient, or does he lose his temper fast with you? Is he patient with other people? How does he treat the waitress, the janitor, or his little brother?
Love is kind - Is he kind to others? Is he kind to you?
Love is not jealous - Does he constantly monitor what you do and get jealous if you spend time with other people? Does he envy other people and put them down?
Love does not brag and is not arrogant - Is he humble, or does he always talk about himself and what he has done?
Love does not act unbecomingly - Does he act in a way that shows the world he loves Jesus and other people, or does he act in a way that is inappropriate?
Heart Prep
Tomorrow we will look at the rest of the qualities in these verses, but today, think these through. Does this sound like the guy you like, or better yet, does this sound like you?