The Holy Bible is believed to be a literary work inspired by the God believed to have created the universe, Earth, and we humans. There are obvious arguments for and against this belief, but that's another topic. For now, I wanted to list the characteristics and qualities of Love as so described in the Book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13. As a reader of the Holy Bible, I have found other descriptions of Love in the Old Testament also, but they are not in a compiled, organized list like in 1 Corinthians 13.
Now it depends on which translation you choose, but for the most part there is a list of 14-15 qualities or characteristics love. For this blog, I chose the NIV (New International Version translation) of the Holy Bible.
1 Corinthians 13 is known as the "love chapter" in biblical circles. The whole point of this surveying endeavor about love was to see how what WE think of love compares to what the Holy Bible, or God, says about love. The apostle Paul is widely accepted as the writer of 1 Corinthians 13 and he preambles his Holy Spirit inspired list of "what love is" by mention how important having love is. Verses 1-3 state:
"If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing."
And then, beginning with verse 4, he gives us a 14-16 characteristic list of biblical qualities describing "what love is":
Love....
1. Is patient
2. Is kind
3. Does not envy
4. Does not boast
5. Is not proud
6. Does not dishonor others
7. Is not self-seeking
8. Is not easily angered
9. Keeps no record of wrongs
10. Does not delight in evil
11. Rejoices with the truth
12. Always protects
13. Always trusts
14. Always hopes
15. Always perseveres
16. Never fails
Paul then summarizes by saying that three things are important: faith, hope and love. But that the greatest of these three is love.
So how does your view of love compare to Paul's biblical list of love? If Paul truly did write with inspiration from the God who created us all, and God knows what He's talking about, then shouldn't our view of love be on par with God's view?
Of course, it all comes down to choice, doesn't it. Some may look at this list and not agree. But when you think about love - the deep, caring affection that we have for someone or some thing based on some form of attraction or connection, doesn't the biblical list above seem more desirable?
What do you think?
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