Love 3

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The other day a co-worker told about how he had to give medicine to his ailing son, a toddler. The medicine tasted terrible but was necessary to bring about healing. But the child would not drink the medicine even when it was mixed with other drinks to make it more palatable.

As a last resort my co-worker and his wife held down their son, squirted the medicine into his mouth and forced him to swallow. At first glance this may seem a terrible thing to do, but it was done in great love.

Most are familiar with the “Love Chapter” from 1 Corinthians. It is commonly read at weddings and is a wonderful commentary on what it means to have love for another. How many attributes of love are listed here? How does love rejoice in the truth? How does love persevere?

There are two major misconceptions about love. The first is that we can love another and still have all the many things that we want. In fact, if we truly love another, we will not envy them their successes nor lord over them with our own. If we truly love we will tolerate so many flaws that exist in the one we love with patience and kindness.

The second common misconception is that to love someone means that you let them have their way in all things. This is not true either. To truly love another we must desire the best for that person, and often that requires patience on our part. But mainly it requires that we persevere in our love and that we “always protect” and “always hope.”

This is tough love. This is the love that causes us to elicit anger from the one we love, but our actions are intended not to harm but to benefit the one we love.

If we will truly love in faith and love as Jesus loves then there will be those times when we not only sacrifice our own happiness for the good of another, but we will risk anger so that we can give what is best to the ones in need.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your love protect and persevere with loved ones?