Fruits of the Spirit: And the greatest of these is Love
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Ah, love. From the earliest moments of our lives, we are meant to feel it, to bask in it. We are told fairy tales of love conquering all. Happily ever after, we are read. As teenagers, the search for love begins. The music we listen to tells us “All you need is love.”
We want it, when we have it we want more. And television, music, movies… they combine to make it appear so wonderful, and so attainable.
Then life steps in.
And suddenly we feel love is always just out of reach. That guy that you so desperately have a crush on? He likes your best friend. That man that you thought was Mr. Right, that you gave your heart to? Mr. Wrong. The person you planned to spend the rest of your life with? Not who you thought he was.
Maybe love isn’t so grand after all, right?
But yet, in the midst of it all, there is God. God doesn’t just love us, He IS love. He defines love. All love that comes through Him is perfect. He want to share it with us, to have us enter into His perfect love, feel that love, and share that love with others.
Think on that for a moment. Perfect love. God’s perfect love compelled Him to send His own son to our sin-filled world, so we could see love in human form. And in Christ’s crucifixion, we see love in action: Jesus’ love for us, that he would die for us. Jesus’ love for his Father, that he would do His Father’s bidding willingly. And God’s love for us, that we may know eternal life through Christ’s death, suffering, and resurrection.
The phrase at the top of the page says, “God is Love.” We’ve heard it all our lives. Frankly, we throw it out there so much that maybe it has lost meaning in our hearts. But that doesn’t make it any less meaningful.
Break it down…
God: The Almighty Father.
Is: embodies.
Love: the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.
God doesn’t just love. GOD IS LOVE!
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13
July 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Linda,
You write with care and passion on a topic that is of importance to people at all levels of faith. I’m happy to tell you that e have recently reviewed your blog at DoYouDiggIt.com. Please stop by and have a read. I do hope you are happy with your review!
While there you will notice a Digg widget, which is there for you and your fans to use to ‘Digg’ your review and increase exposure and traffic to your blog.
Here is a link to your review:
http://www.doyoudiggit.com/personal-development/exploring-life-as-a-modern-christian-woman
Great job!