Another purpose or function of love is to get rid of fear! Love provides us with security, stability, and salvation. Salvation is not just “fire insurance,” it is deliverance from everything the enemy (Satan) would bring against you! Even in THIS life. Knowing and understanding God’s kind of love will preserve you, give you refuge […]

What purpose does love serve in our lives? What function does it perform? One purpose or function of love in our lives is forgiveness. God forgave us and through His love we must learn to forgive others in our lives in order to experience the fullness of His grace toward us. In the Bible Dictionary […]

The Word of God often speaks of God’s love toward mankind. God’s love is unconditional (Agape) toward us, but His blessings and favor are not. God shows His favor to those who keep His commands, as evidenced in Deuteronomy 7:9 (Amplified), which says, “Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the LORD your God, […]

Now that you have an idea about what love is, let’s begin to see what is God’s love. 1 Corinthians 14:1 (Amplified) says, “Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire this love – make it your aim, your great quest.” God’s Word is filled with examples of His love toward us. Even when God made the […]

1 Corinthians 13:6 (Amplified) says, [Love] does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].” I cannot tell you how many times I see people rejoice in others’ pain and suffering. We are not supposed to condemn others or be happy when someone who may have hurt us is […]

Ok let’s move on to the 5th verse in 1 Corinthians 13 (Amplified), “[Love] doeth not behave itself unseemly.”  If you remember the definitions from an earlier post, that word unseemly means improper, inappropriate, indecent, unbefitting. As Christians, our behavior should exemplify the love of God; we should act in a manner that does not […]

OK, let’s go verse by verse, looking at the characteristics that the Apostle Paul uses to describe God’s love. In verse 4 of 1 Corinthians 13 (NIV), “Love is patient.” Interestingly enough, patience – or longsuffering – is one of the fruits that we will explore later! In 2 Peter 3:9 (Amplified) it says that […]

Here are some definitions of words that I will be using in the next several posts: *Endure: last, persist, to suffer firmly or patiently, bear, continue, abide. *Patient: bearing without complaint, showing self-control, calm, steadfast, persevering under undeserved affliction. *Persistence: perseverance as in well-doing, continuance as in fruit-bearing, in running the appointed race. *Kind: sympathetic, […]

Let’s look at some other translations of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Phillips translates the same passage this way: “Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it shares the joy of those […]

What IS this thing we call love? If you’ve ever found yourself at a loss to define “love,” don’t be discouraged. Our English language may be a poor example of the meaning of the word, as we define so many things with that one word. We use it to describe many feelings, thoughts, and emotions. […]