The verses about love which are found in the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:1 up to 1 Corinthians 14:1) are among the well-known and most quoted passages in the Bible. These verses tell exactly what love is and what love is not. The main theme of the verses is quite simple but it is also quite profound: All thoughts and actions must be based on love.
The use of language without love is noise at best. It can result in oppression and violence. The use of prophecy without love is corruption. The use of knowledge and understanding without love is pride and egotism. The devil is full of knowledge and understanding but he is without love. He is damned, eternally. And the use of faith without love is nothing more than magic spell or sorcery. At worst, it is satanic witchcraft.
Love is not rude; it is not selfish and greedy. It thrives on sharing. It is not egotistic and irritable; it does not demand its own way nor does it plot evil. Rather, love is patient and kind; it listens, and it seeks to understand and to empathize and to find solutions to the problem. It is joyful when it is triumphant and it rejoices when someone else is triumphant; it thrives on justice for all.
Love is faithful and hopelessly hopeful; it endures. It sees every life situation as an opportunity to thrive and go on. Prophecies will fail, speaking in tongues will cease and knowledge will vanish – but love remains for God is love.
And God is eternal.
Photo Gallery of Hearts, Love and God
