"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up."
1 Corinthians 13:4 (NKJV)
What is the difference between someone who likes to sing, and a professional singer, or a person who likes to play some sports on the weekend, and someone who is a professional athlete? The difference is that while these people are doing the same basic things, in each case one of those people is much better than the other at what they are doing, and that is because the professional singer and professional athlete have an innate ability that the other person does not have, and that ability is a part of who they are.
There are Christians who are trying very hard to be nice, and walk in love with others, just because they know it is the right thing to do. While we do need to do our best to be nice and friendly with other people, what we really need to do is develop ourselves spiritually to the point that we are not just trying to be nice, and walk in love with others, but we are doing these things because they are a part of who we are as followers of Jesus. We can develop to the point that we do not just have to force ourselves to try and be nice to people, we can truly be nice.
In 1 Corinthians 13, it talks about the characteristics of the love of God, and in Romans 5:5, we are told that we already have the love of God in our hearts. We do not just have to live of life of following some rules to try to be nice to other people because the Bible says so, but as we grow and develop spiritually, we can become better at allowing the love of God that is already in us to work in our lives. Instead of being dominated by our feelings, our natural tendencies, or circumstances, we can allow the love of God to work in us, and through us, in our interactions with other people.
1 Corinthians 13:4 (NKJV)
What is the difference between someone who likes to sing, and a professional singer, or a person who likes to play some sports on the weekend, and someone who is a professional athlete? The difference is that while these people are doing the same basic things, in each case one of those people is much better than the other at what they are doing, and that is because the professional singer and professional athlete have an innate ability that the other person does not have, and that ability is a part of who they are.
There are Christians who are trying very hard to be nice, and walk in love with others, just because they know it is the right thing to do. While we do need to do our best to be nice and friendly with other people, what we really need to do is develop ourselves spiritually to the point that we are not just trying to be nice, and walk in love with others, but we are doing these things because they are a part of who we are as followers of Jesus. We can develop to the point that we do not just have to force ourselves to try and be nice to people, we can truly be nice.
In 1 Corinthians 13, it talks about the characteristics of the love of God, and in Romans 5:5, we are told that we already have the love of God in our hearts. We do not just have to live of life of following some rules to try to be nice to other people because the Bible says so, but as we grow and develop spiritually, we can become better at allowing the love of God that is already in us to work in our lives. Instead of being dominated by our feelings, our natural tendencies, or circumstances, we can allow the love of God to work in us, and through us, in our interactions with other people.
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