God's Loyal Love Is...

Recently, in the daily lectionary we read "The Love Chapter" ... 1 Corinthians 13. The Gospel reading which followed was Matthew 10 where Jesus sends out his disciples to declare the Kingdom of God and "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." Whoa, wait a minute. What?! I picked myself up off the floor and re-read, "...raise the dead." Then, I returned to The Love Chapter (you'll see how this connects later). It begins,

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 

BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, 

I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.

And, if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains (raise the dead!), 

BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, 

I am nothing. 

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, 

BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, 

I gain nothing. 

(1 Corinthians 13.1-3)

Let me explain (this is where "raising the dead" comes in): I have been praying for a greater blessing of spiritual gifts in my life ... things like faith and prophecy and words of knowledge and healing. Paul exhorts us to do this. No, I have NOT been praying to raise the dead but, reading these two passages together reminded me that what I need to pray for is the gift of God's Love, His loyal love ... chesed to be poured in to my life and out to my daily living.

So, what does that look like in real life? I took the verbs of what "Love is..." and looked up the definitions:

Love is patient [bears provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc. with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger and the like; quietly and steadily persevering or diligent especially in exactness or detail] 
and kind [good or benevolent in nature or disposition; mild; gentle; characterized by expressing goodwill; charitable; compassionate; pity];
love does not envy [feel discontented or covetous for another's advantage, success, possessions, etc.; jealous; backbiting] 
or boast [speak with exaggeration and excessive pride or vanity about oneself]; 
it is not arrogant [making claims or pretentions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud] 
or rude [discourteous or impolite, especially deliberately; rough in manner or behavior]. 
It does not insist on its own way [act like a selfish king - that was interesting]; 
it is not irritable [easily annoyed; readily impatient or angry; bearish; contentious; grouchy]
or resentful [full of displeasure or indignation at some act, remark, person, etc. regarded as causing insult or injury; sourness; roughness; thinks evil]; 
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing [to look at or think about with great or excessive, often smug or malicious, satisfaction; to crow; to exult or glory over an evil done], 
but rejoices with the truth [be glad; take delight; be happy over].
Love bears all things [holds up, supports; holds or remains firm under; brings forth; gives birth to; is capable of; presses on or pushes onward; suffers, endures, or undergoes; sustains without yielding or suffering injury],
believes all things [has confidence in the truth, reliability, or existence of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so],
hopes all things [the feeling that what is wanted can be had; to look forward with ... I add faithful ... confidence],
endures all things [holds out against; sustains without impairment or yielding; undergoes; bears without resistance or with patience; continues to exist; has continued or lasting gain].
Love never fails [not ever, at any time, not at all, to no extent or degree ... will love ... fall short of success or achievement; receive less than passing grade or mark; dwindle, pass on, or die away. lose strength or vigor or become unable].

Oh boy. Ouch! We can do all sorts of miraculous things but without love, they are as nothing. ... But, here is what is miraculous: 

That love is at work and living within us 

to will and to work for God's good pleasure! 

And, it never fails us! 

This is the work of our hands, the work of our hearts ... to love as God loves us, to freely give it as God freely gives it to us. Is it hard to give up our selves ... our boastful, arrogant, irritable, wants my own way self ... and take up the ... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things self? Yes. But, it is possible. It takes a daily looking to Jesus and asking for help. And, He gives us that Help in the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us. He is the power of God's Love at work within us. Can't get much better than that.

Could this work of love ... chesed ... not be as miraculous as healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons? Absolutely.