“[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:5-6
God’s kind of love – “agape” – isn’t easy. It’s hard … REALLY hard.
But Jesus Christ has called us to love as He loves: with an unconditional, others-centered, agape love. It’s far and away the best kind of love. So, as Christians, we must stay determined to love God and people with agape.
Picking up from last week’s article, I’d like to share five more ways that God’s love behaves:
Love is not self-seeking (v. 5). It’s impossible for agape love to be self-absorbed and self-seeking, because agape is all about putting the needs of others above itself. The online BibleRef.com commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:5 makes this excellent point: “Much of the Corinthian church’s problems would have disappeared if they focused on looking for ways to meet each other’s needs before satisfying their own.” If you want to squander your life and be quickly forgotten after you die, here’s the secret: Just live for yourself.
Love is not easily angered (v. 5). The CSB and ESV translate Paul’s words this way: Love “is not irritable.” Love does not lose its cool over small irritants. We all know that Jesus got angry at times. When his 12 disciples were chasing off the children who were coming to Jesus, Jesus got angry. When Jesus drove out the money changers and venders from the temple courts, He was really angry. But Jesus never got angry for selfish reasons. He got angry for righteous reasons. He got angry for the glory of God and the good of those around Him.
Love keeps no record of wrongs (v. 5). Paul uses an interesting Greek word here: “logizesthai.” In Paul’s day, this was a word accountants used to describe writing down a transaction on a ledger and reckoning it to someone. So, Paul is saying that agape doesn’t keep a mental note of everything someone did that was mean or hurtful. Agape doesn’t hold grudges, and it “keeps no record of wrongs.”
Love does not delight in evil (v. 6). Sadly, our culture finds sin entertaining. Horror movies make hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and we have a $15 billion pornography industry in America. Why? Because we find bloody murder and illicit sex entertaining. Now, many Christians would say, “That doesn’t apply to ME!” But what about gossip? One of the most common ways that Christians delight in evil is by listening to gossip. Do you realize that gossips wouldn’t do much harm if you weren’t so eagerly listening to them? Agape love never delights in evil. Agape love never rejoices in wrongdoing or in gossip.
Love rejoices with the truth (v. 5). Remember that in John 14:6, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Therefore, agape love rejoices in Jesus. Jesus Christ IS love’s delight.
Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us for Good Friday tomorrow night at 6pm, and for our Easter service this Sunday at 9 a.m. with an Easter Egg Hunt afterward for the kids. Impact meets at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.
