“And now abide faith, hope, love,
these three; but the greatest of these is love.”—1 Corinthians 13:13
God created us in His image and His
likeness (Genesis 2:26-27). You are
created by God, so you are the product
of love, “…for God is love” (1 John
4:8). Jesus said in John 15 that He
abided in His Father’s love and that
we abide in His love when we keep
His commandments.
It is hard for our minds to
comprehend that God’s love is in our
“hearts”—in our spirits. Our natural
mind has difficulty accepting the fact that love is in our inner most being.
When we were born-gain, we were begotten of love. Because our natural
mind can not comprehend the things of the spirit, we must renew our minds
according to Romans 12:2.
One of the ways that is helpful in
renewing your mind concerning the love of
God is to confess (rehearse to the hearing of your ears) certain scriptures
that speak of God’s love. I Corinthians
13:4-11 helps us to comprehend that we are a product of God’s love; therefore, we are to produce these same
attributes.
Love 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.
5
It 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].
6
It does not
rejoice at injustice and
unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and
truth prevail.
7
Love 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].
8
Love never fails
[never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([a]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for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by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].
9
For our knowledge
is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is
fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
10
But when the
complete and perfect (total)
comes, the incomplete and
imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
11
When I was a
child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child;
now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.
Once we change the self-image
that we have of ourselves, we begin to produce the product of love.
Prayer—Father I thank You that You made me in Your image and in Your
likeness and that I am a product of Your love.
I ask You to help me to grow and develop in Your love and that I produce
Your love to others, in Jesus Name. Amen.
