1 Corinthians 13 Made Personal

Today’s Bible reading is Isaiah 47 and 1 Corinthians 13.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor 13:4-7)

It’s not hard to make that paragraph personal–just replace the word love with your name. Easy to do, but really convicting. Here’s what it would look like for me:

Jason is patient and kind; Jason does not envy or boast; Jason is not arrogant or rude. Jason does not insist on his own way; Jason is not irritable or resentful; Jason does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Jason bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Looking at 1 Corinthians 13 from that angle, Jason is very much a work-in-progress. There are days that plugging my name into that paragraph is a little like trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. I’m thankful God isn’t through with me yet. But I’m also thankful for the name that fits perfectly in 1 Corinthians 13.

Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; Jesus is not arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; Jesus is not irritable or resentful; Jesus does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never ends.

Learning from him, walking with him, and conforming myself to him is the greatest goal anyone can have–a goal worthy of taking seriously, making personal, this week.

Patience. Kindness. Not envying or boasting; not arrogant or rude. Not insisting on my own way; not irritable, resentful, or rejoicing at wrongdoing. Rejoicing in and with the truth. Bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring. That’s Jesus. That’s the path. That’s the light this world needs–the light I want to reflect this week. How about you?