Day 8
Human beings were created to a physical and visible expression of the moral character of God, and God is love.
‘No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.’ (1 John 4:12)
God created humanity to be a physical expression of His character, the ultimate expression of which is love, for ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8). Paul’s classic description of love is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, ‘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 butrejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.’ If you read that a second time and replace the word ‘love’ with the name ‘Christ,’ it will make perfect sense: ‘Jesus Christ is patient, He is kind, He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud…’ and so on.
But here is a challenge for you. Read it again and this time replace the word ‘love’ with your own name. Are you patient? Kind? Not envying? Not boasting? Not proud? Not dishonouring others? Not self seeking? Not easily angered? Keeping no record of wrongs? Do not delight in evil? Rejoicing with the truth? Protecting? Trusting? Hoping? Persevering? This is true love. All our activities if not anexpression of love, come to nothing; they are about as appealing as a ‘resounding gong or a clanging cymbal’ (1 Corinthians 13:1).
How may I better express love to those I live and work with?