Chapter 26

Some words keep their original meaning over a long period of time, usually because they refer to something undeniably concrete. Nouns like bridge and lion and thumb fall into that category, and verbs like run, climb, and whistle. Even words depicting emotions often have an undeniable concreteness to them. We know immediately when someone is angry, and we have a word at our disposal to name it. Not so in the case of the word “love.” It is as slippery as a grassy slope after a rainstorm and as elusive as a shadow in cloudy weather. How many times have you said, “I love you”? How many times have you trivialized the same word by your actions? God has set the standard for love, which we see in the biblical story and ultimately in the person of Jesus. What do you learn about love in the following passages?

I Corinthians 13; John 13, 15

Think of three people in your life: a clerk at a grocery store you consistently patronize, a colleague or superior at work, a fellow student or a teacher, a best friend. One of these people should be a member of your extended family, another a person in your networks of friends, a still another a person who is hard for you to love—three different people who play very different roles in your life. What would it mean for you to love them well, as Jesus exhibited in John 13 and as Paul described in I Corinthians 13? How would your behavior and attitude change? How would you treat them differently? Aim to love them this way for the next week or two. Give yourself to love and try to excel at it. Ask God for special grace to that end. Observe yourself prayerfully as you attempt this exercise. What do you learn about yourself?

What did you learn about love from the Bible study, the chapter, and the spiritual exercise? Who has loved you well? How do you know? Which people do you find especially hard to love? Why? What does love require of you during this particular season of life?

I Corinthians 13:4-7