Law of Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a English Standard Version

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

The bible does not use the specific term law of love but does describe the attributes of agape love. That is God’s perfect love and while it should be noted that this list is not a law it does define how that love acts.

Everything in nature has constraints. Water is subject to temperature, gravity, air pressure, salinity, and solubility. It has a law of constraints which identifies how it will act with predictable results. That is a law unto itself.

If we do not measure up to the standards of agape love in 1 Corinthians 13, it does not mean His love is absent in us. It only means we have not obeyed the law of love. We can love in many different way. The Greek has multiple definitions for love and each has their own characteristics. None of them reach the standard of performance which is only defined as agape.

One of the characteristic of agape love not listed above is the ability to change the heart in which it resides. Often the resistance to obeying the law of love is mental. If we do not think we are worthy we will not act like we are worthy. That is allowing the psychological to overrule the heart.

Why is it we get irritated with the actions of others? Could it be that we have judged them as being unworthy of the love that abides in us? Jesus loved us while we were unworthy and called us into His glorious presence.

Why can’t we do the same?

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