Love

1 Corinthians 13

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What a great passage!!! It goes along with our relationship with our Lord, Jesus, as well as our relationships with friends, brothers and neighbors. But, what I am thinking about today is my relationship with my wife and kids.

My kids mean the world to me, they are a source of unconditional love, a source of joy and a source of laughter. I think of the other day, when my daughter wanted a snack when she just had one and we were about to eat supper. I told her no, so she went to the other room for a little bit... Then she came back with a picture she drew for me, it simply said "Mad at you". I get a good laugh out of a lot of things my kids do. They are an awesome blessing. There are no feelings like the ones we have for our kids.

My wife is also a tremendous blessing for me. She is the greatest wife a guy could ever have! She keeps our house looking great, grocery shops and takes care of our three kids as well as baby-sitting two other kids, among doing many other things! She is a super woman!! I am extremely blessed to be married to this beautiful woman! Stay-at-home mom is a very difficult job and I commend her on this task.

I want to encourage every man who reads this to think about all the things our wives do for our families, and give them some encouraging words today!

Dave L