August 23 - I Love You

August 23 - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - I Love You

How could I possible do a 'Favorite Scriptures' series without including the Love Chapter. This passage has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. We used to read through it in youth group on a regular basis and do different exercises with the passage. I was never terribly fond of the exercise in which I was to replace the word 'love' with my name. I had a difficult time saying the words, "Diane is patient, Diane is kind. She does not envy, does not boast and is not proud. She is not rude, self-seeking or easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. Diane does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. She always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

You see, I fail miserably at all of those things. But, it is always something to strive for!

My father taught us as children that the words, "I love you" were very important. We heard them from him many times during the day all through his life. I could never imagine not telling someone I cared about that I loved them. I'm sure it has freaked out some of my friends that I am so free with using those words, but the truth is - I love you!

The entire Bible is a love story. God wants us to know how much He loves us. The Old Testament is the story of God drawing His children into relationship with Him. He loved them so much, even though they worshipped other gods, ran away from Him, complained about His activity in their lives, ignored Him, and broke the covenant over and over. He still loved them. He loved them enough to bring them through the transition to the New Testament where He proved it again with the sacrifice of His Son to bring them into a relationship. But, that wasn't enough. God wanted all of His creation to come into relationship with Him so the New Testament is the story of Him reaching out to the world to show His love.

Everything else is transient, everything else is unimportant. Only love will remain. And when the end comes, God will finally have the relationship with His creation that He desires. Revelation 21:3 tells us that when the end comes, "the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

He loves us and wants to be with us.