When I think about love, our culture often points us toward feelings - butterflies, romance, passion. But 1 Corinthians 13 paints a completely different picture. Paul describes love not as an emotion to feel, but as a commitment to live out through concrete actions.
"Love is patient, love is kind." That's where it starts. Not with grand gestures or poetic declarations, but with everyday patience when someone frustrates me. Kindness when it would be easier to be sharp or dismissive. These aren't qualities I stumble into - they're choices I make repeatedly, day after day.
The passage continues with what love isn't: it doesn't envy, boast, or act with pride. It doesn't dishonour others or keep a mental record of wrongs to bring up later. I find this part convicting because it's so easy to keep score in relationships, isn't it? To remember every slight, every disappointment. But real love releases those records and chooses grace instead.
Then Paul shifts to what love always does: it protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Even when relationships are hard. Even when people disappoint me. Even when love costs me something. This kind of love doesn't give up when things get difficult - it endures.
The final declaration is perhaps the most powerful: "Love never fails." Not because human love is perfect, but because the love Paul describes here reflects God's love for us - and God's love truly never fails.
This passage is read at countless weddings because it captures what marriage should be built on. But honestly, these truths apply to every relationship I have. With my children, my friends, difficult family members, even people who've hurt me. When I love this way, I'm reflecting something of God's character to the world.
Real love isn't easy. But it's always worth it.