Shalom,

We saw in our last post that Jesus said the greatest commandments were to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. Today I want to look at what the Bible says love looks like:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV)
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

That sounds good, but what does it actually mean? We've been taking Scriptures apart verse by verse and looking at the meanings of the words used. Now we'll see how it sounds in the Amplified Bible:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified)
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

Now that translation makes things a little clearer! Do you know that meditation can make it even clearer to us than that? Let's look at this passage this way:

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXPANDED, INTERPRETIVE TRANSLATION OF FIRST CORINTHIANS 13:4-8

“Love patiently and passionately bears with others for as long as patience is needed;

Love doesn’t demand others to be like itself; rather, it is so focused on the needs of others that it bends over backwards to become what others need it to be;

Love is not ambitious, self-centered, or so consumed with itself that it never thinks of the needs or desires that others possess;

Love doesn’t go around talking about itself all the time, constantly exaggerating and embellishing the facts to make it look more important in the sight of others;

Love does not behave in a prideful, arrogant, haughty, superior, snooty, snobbish, or clannish manner;

Love is not rude and discourteous–it is not careless or thoughtless, nor does it carry on in a fashion that would be considered insensitive to others;

Love does not manipulate situations or scheme and devise methods that will twist situations to its own advantage;

Love does not deliberately engage in actions or speak words that are so sharp, they cause an ugly or violent response;

Love does not deliberately keep records of wrongs or past mistakes;

Love does not feel overjoyed when it sees an injustice done to someone else but is elated, thrilled, ecstatic, and overjoyed with the truth;

Love protects, shields, guards, covers, conceals, and safeguards people from exposure;

Love strains forward with all its might to believe the very best in every situation;

Love always expects and anticipates the best in others and the best for others;

Love never quits, never surrenders, and never gives up;

Love never disappoints, never fails, and never lets anyone down.”

Now that makes things even clearer and easier to understand! How did someone come up with this expanded, interpretive translation? They meditated on the Word. They studied the meanings of the words in the original text and allowed the Holy Spirit to teach them what that would mean to us today! That's what makes meditating on the Word so fun and fulfilling! To be able to look at the Bible and apply it to MY life, right now! That's what our heavenly Father intends for us to do. That is why He gave the Holy Spirit to us to be our Teacher! Allow the Holy Spirit to make the Word of God come alive to YOU by spending time reading, studying and meditating. I guarantee that you will never be the same!

Shalom in Him!