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Many miraculous powers were distributed among brethren in the first century. However, Paul teaches that there is a power or trait superior to all of these spectacular gifts. It is love (1 Cor. 12:31). Love is the most excellent way (1 Cor. 13:4-8), because:
- Love suffereth long. Love makes us patient with others as God is with us. One who loves is slow to bitterness or anger when wronged.
- Love is kind. There is a sweetness to the spirit of the loving person. Graciousness and gentleness in word and deed come of love.
- Love envieth not. A loving person neither desires nor begrudges what others have. Love makes us rejoice in good fortune for others.
- Love vaunteth not itself. The braggart advertises self-love. Christian love is humble, self- effacing.
- Love is not puffed up. Even the arrogant despise conceit and arrogance in others. A loving person doesn’t throw his weight around.
- Love doth not behave itself unseemly. Love for others keeps us from being rude and crude. Tasteful words and deeds demonstrate love.
- Love seeketh not its own. Love doesn’t let us dwell only on our rights and what people owe us. A person who is always insisting on his own way and who is always complaining of mistreatment is simply deficient in love.
- Love is not provoked. The person who is irritable and has a hair-trigger temper has a love problem. We may call such a person moody; Paul calls him or her unloving.
- Love taketh not account of evil. When love controls, we don’t store up wrongs suffered.
- Love rejoiceth not in unrighteousness. When we love, we mourn at ill reports of others.
- Love rejoiceth with the truth. Some don’t want the Truth to prevail or they don’t want to hear the Truth. Love makes us glad when Truth is proclaimed and especially when it triumphs.
- Love beareth, believeth, hopeth, endureth all things. Love causes us to keep going in face of insult, to trust in face of doubt, to hope though discouraged and to persevere triumphantly whatever may come.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Edifier, weekly bulletin of Pearl Street Church of Christ, Denton, TX, March 19, 1987, of which I was editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
