4 Love is patient, love is
kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does
not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-7
This is one of my personal favorite quotes; so much in fact that I have even used it in the reading for my wedding ceremony. It may sound like a cliché quote; having been associated and used in many weddings, movies and oh, in any event based on the notion of love I suppose (obviously).
Cliché or not, this quote is one of the most beautiful quote and I love
the simplicity yet in-depth meaning the quote holds in relation to the concept
of love. It is therefore no surprise this quote won the hearts of many (hands
down) for weddings, engagements, professions of love, and well, all that has to
do with love as mentioned earlier. After all, what could be better to describe
or depict love than a love verse; and a biblical adaptation none less?
It sounds like a really really simple quote, and it is, and should be for
things are only complicated when we make them out to be. The notion of love; or
the general perception of love is beautifully represented in the adjectives
made out in the verse to make the telling of the greatness of this amazing
thing called Love.
We have come across many versions of love; and how love is
perceived by everyone (individually, culturally, etc) and there is no way of
telling the right from the wrong because simply put, there is no right or wrong
when it comes to this concept.
Love is just subjective in that manner, and
everyone has their own encounter or set of experiences when it comes to love
and there is just endless possibilities of everyone’s definition of love.
Love works in many ways, and comes in many forms. It may sometimes be
easily spotted but sometimes it could just slip by unnoticed.
Love is just
surprising and wonderfully so in this context and it is the reason it just
creeps in and touches everyone’s heart in its many works. Everyone has
definitely crossed paths with love in one way or another and love does not
pertain to the romantic links between lovers, but far more and could even send
sparks between a human being and an object; and that is just one of the many surprises brought on by love. It is simply inexplicable and we would never
even know when it hits us. It could be sudden, or it could be gradual, or even
in loud realization. We can never anticipate falling in love – it is not
something which can be forecasted or planned in advance, nor can we predict our
falling out of love and when we just have to let go.
Love is such a vast subject that it could take me a thesis to just write
on this subject, but this post is focused on the biblical verse I favor so much
and to share my personal perspectives on how this verse enlightened and better
still, enriched my very own perceptions on love.
Love is patient.
Truly, when one is in love, or loves another, there is no rush. There is
never a hurry to seek that love or race against time to have that love
reciprocated. Far beyond it, there is no such thing as being cross or giving up
on that person simply because there is just too much to work on when being with
that person.
From parents’ love to two people in love, patience always prevails.
A
child could be obstinate and defiant, rejecting his/her parents’ love for many
reasons; from the social peer pressure to the demands of liberty, there are
just so many ways a child would just turn away from their parents when they are
of age (or not). Some would even involve themselves in activities of vice;
bringing shame to the family, and yet do the parents just disown them? Well,
some might, but deep down inside, does that mean the parents stop loving their
children simply because of their vices? They are still harboring that hope in
their heart which only God knows, that their child would someday come to
his/her senses and return as that precious prodigal son.
Time is never of an
essence here when it comes to this love.
The same goes for two person in love.
When one truly falls in love, there
is no such thing as waiting for too long or giving up on a person simply
because the person says no. True love means being able to accept and waiting
for that person, even if it means forever. When love has settled in the heart,
there is never a way to measure that length of time taken to receive love from
the other side. Sometimes, there is also the acceptance that the love may never
be reciprocated but that one in love would always be there, patiently, waiting
(or not) to be there for the person they love.
There is no amount of time which could measure up to the extent of one’s
love.
When one loves, one loves with all of his/her heart. Being patient is not
only in relation to the time measurement, but also to the acceptance and the
ability to tolerate all that comes with the person/thing they love. One could
be transfixed on an old book they have been searching for a very long time, and
yet they never gave up because it was something they knew they wanted. When the
book is found, it could be torn, or in many ways, shoddy in appearance but the
book hunter would just ignore it all and treat it as though it was a precious
treasure. Although the wait is over, there is nothing greater than the joy of a
love found. The same goes to a returning child who has stumbled, swayed and
loses their way yet is treated the same way as though time was frozen when they
return to home.
When one finds and meets the love of his/her life, suddenly,
time no longer matters.
Everything that is good and bad are no longer important, there is always
that reason to forgive that person. There is always that reason to forsake and
ignore that bugging appearance of the person/object.
Nothing matters except
that the hole in the heart has been filled, with the true love.
Love is Kind.
Love truly is, and can be compassionate in so many ways. It cannot be
evil, nor trashing nor condescending to the other. Love always finds its ways
in the most unexpected of places; even amidst the visible dirt where many would
shy away from, love could manifest in that way.
Love knows no boundaries; race,
age, gender, religion or language. The language of love can be spoken in many
ways, and often in times when one is in the lowest point of states.
Love does
not discriminate. That is how exactly we could feel love for someone we do not
know, just by looking at the state of their conditions (poor living state, poor
health, pleading eyes, etc). It is sympathetic in many ways, yet there is that
sense of love when one decides to give out to lend their hand to help the
people in true need. The truth lovers feel the need to help, and to be there to
do something for these unfortunate strangers whom they have no relation nor
blood connection. There is just so much in their heart to be able to give
without expecting anything in return, simply because the love they felt to do
God’s will.
Being able to never put someone down, to never do something bad or have
the heart to hurt someone; whether intentionally or unintentionally, and
subconsciously is the notion of kindness that comes with the package of love.
The heart that goes out and the inability to even upset or just to set someone
in the opposite direction is when love is truly at work. It is an act of
kindness; it is about being sweet and warm to someone one truly cares about.
There is never too much effort, never annoying to just be able to be there for
that person we truly love. If we could never hurt a stranger, or a fragile being,
or even any little furry or helpless creature, how could we even hurt someone
we love?
That, is truly love at work.
It does Not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud
Love means never feeling jealous of others. It is not about victory; as
there was never a competition to begin with. To love is to be able to give and
accept freely. A parent who loves a child would never be jealous when others
love their own child, as much as they or even more than them. No one contests
to compare the amount of love one gives out and then receives. There is no need
to feel belittled by the love others receive for it is just a different way of
displaying affection by the various parties in the world. We should be happy
with the love we receive, and fundamentally, the greatest love of all; is from
God himself.
There is nothing to envy about; for when we love, we want to see
more love and happiness dwelling in every corner of the world. Others happiness
matter to make the world a greater place to live in. When everyone is happy,
there will be no more wars and conflicts. There will no more misery, no more
suffering and no more worries. It is like the greater state of Utopia achieved;
only that it will need to strike a harmonic balance for everything in the
universe to fall in place.
We should not boast or show off the amount of love we invested in and
tell to others our achievements.
Love is not a victory; there was never a
conquest to begin with. If there should be a conquest, the only thing should be
to achieve true love and to be able to instill love in everyone. True love
speaks not of winning but of being able to love. There is no pride when one
wins the love of another, or have that person beside them. Love is just in its
own ways, pure and uncensored in all its glory.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no records of wrongs.
Love
means not putting others down. There is no self-centeredness when it comes to
love.
Love is not about oneself, and one’s personal feelings. The journey of
love does not end when one finds the soulmate or lifelong love partner to share
on the journey.
Love is about extending to others, about honoring others with love and respect. It is not all about self-consuming and holding the love we sought to ourselves.
Love is about extending to others, about honoring others with love and respect. It is not all about self-consuming and holding the love we sought to ourselves.
Love is to be shared, it is to be spread to others when we
found love ourselves. It is infectious, it should be contagious and ought to be
dissipated like air and heat. It is not about our self-need for love, or to
fill that void in our hearts. It is not about being loved ourselves and that is
the end. When we love, we need to love others around us. We start with our
loved ones, our neighbors, the people we do not know and the unfortunate people
who need love.
Love can be imagined as though it is sitting on top of an eagle
or a bird, that when it is perched atop the body, the bird could slowly spread
its wings with might and splendor and fly off, flapping its wings along the
way, soaring with joy.
Love could be so wonderful when it is shared and what
better way than to see a world filled with love compared to one filled with
anger and negativity?
Love
is never easily angered, and it never tracks the wrongs. There is never that
tick or cross to say prove the wrong and right in love.
Love is just about that
whole feeling and sense of liberation when one finds it. It settles so
comfortably in one’s heart, that one automatically finds that enormous space
and infinite tolerance for mistakes and even disappointments that come their
way. One could easily be filled with that ability to forgive and forget, and
even to the extent of dismissing the thought of being angry at the ones they
love. As human beings, it is inevitable that we could fall to the temptations
of Satan to commit the deadly sin of anger when things don’t go our way, but
with that loved one that we are so deeply smitten with, anger becomes a thing
of the past and is even impossible.
When love nestles in the heart, nothing
matters and the thought of being apart and sad because of anger is just simply
unspeakable or even unimaginable; such is the power of love.
Love
does not delight in the evil; but rejoices in the truth
There
is no such thing as wrong or bad when it comes to love. Negative emotions, or wrongdoings simply
could never find its place in the context of love. It is not about making a
right wrong, or hurting other people so bad that they would be reduced to
misery. It is not about making the worst decisions, but simply, all these can
be forsaken, forgiven, simply because it’s love.
Love has that power to erase
the worst decisions, the pains, the tears, the inexplicable hurt from betrayal
and just that weeks of heartaches and make them go way as though with a wave of
a wand.
Love, is itself, the truth.
When one loves, one oversees the bad, and
only sees the eyes of Love.
It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love
will never walk away from us.
Love will never give up and turn its back on us.
Love is always there, we just do not see it when it’s not in the form of
cherubs, heart-shaped filled with beautiful memories, or in Cupid’s arrow and
the sentimental songs playing in the background with that candlelit
environment.
Love does not need to come disguised, it is always existent, we
just need to open our eyes and heart to feel it. When we are in love, we become
immune to the hurt, the disappointments, the mistakes and the unhappiness
around us. We want to protect the ones we love; to ensure of their happiness
and safety.
We want to see that smile and twinkle in the eye all the time,
simply because we love. We never doubt the love they had or we have for them,
we always believe and we will never wonder if they are not in love with us.
That confidence came with the strings of love.
Love is never the dead end; when
someone ends the marriage or relationship, many would think that love does not
exist anymore – at least not for them. That is not the case.
Love still exists
among the other people who cares about them, and also in that distance they may
never know, there may be another soulmate just waiting for their paths to
cross. Love is not all about being two people, but it is about the greater
universe.
Love will never die; it always holds on strongly and dearly, like
that sticky adhesive glue and there is always that chance to find love when we
allow it to seep in.
Love
never fails.
Love
will never walk away from us. We may choose to walk away from love due to our
various disappointments, our past failures, our own mistakes but Love will
always catch up with us. Love surrounds us and when everything else is not
aligned in that constellation with our stars, love is always still dictating
the center of the universe in our lives.
Love will never cease to exist in us.
Love
is never selfish.
Love
is just wonderful, and even better when it is shared with joy. Some may choose
not to believe in love for various reasons, and they may not even be seen to
those who chose to turn the blind eye but that does not mean is non existent.
Love is everywhere; whether you want to see it or not. You just need to feel it
with your heart, and open your eyes and heart to fill yourself with that
glorious feeling of love.
Love ought to be shared, and to reach out to those
who have yet to experience the greatness of love.
Spread love, and share that
wonderful feeling of being touched.
When we love, and touch others with love,
we experience love in a far greater way.
Love
is always, always in the air. Feel it, enjoy it, and spread it.
May
the Love always be with each and everyone of you.
Lots
of love from me to you :-*
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