“(Agape) always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) You want to give up on someone. Maybe you already have. The relationship costs too much emotionally. They drain you with constant drama. They make the same mistakes over and over. You’ve tried…
“(Agape) always hopes…” 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) You’ve already written someone off. Their name came to mind just now. That person who keeps disappointing you. The one who promises to change but never does. The family member stuck in the…
“(Agape) always protects….” 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) You talk too much about other people’s failures. Someone messes up at work and you mention it. A friend makes a poor choice and you share it. Your family member struggles and you…
“Love (Agape) is kind.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) Kindness is not the absence of cruelty. It’s the active pursuit of someone else’s good. You can avoid being mean and still never be kind. You can refrain from hurting people and…
“(Agape) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) Your fuse is shorter than you think. That driver who cut you off this morning. The coworker…
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks…
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules they have taught.” Matthew 15:8-9 (NIV) Your hands can lie better than your mouth ever…
“If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV) Your greatest sacrifice might be completely worthless to…
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV) You can know…
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV) Your words might be worthless to God. That’s a terrifying…