Lent Day 1 - Love Is…
‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’ 1 Corinthians 13:4–7
‘What is Love?’ the eighties’ pop-singer Howard Jones asked my teenage self. Love received and felt can mean so much. It can be fickle or consistent, shallow or deep, demanding or self-giving, controlling or serving. But God’s love, described in our dwelling place, is pure, unfailing, infinite in width, length, height and depth; unconditional, undeserving, protective, compassionate and . . . gosh, what an endless list it would be to describe God’s amazing love!
Scripture uses different words for love to differentiate between a) passionate desire or feelings for someone, b) affection and care, or c) a choice to love someone, no matter our desires or feelings for them or how they respond. It’s this third word for love, agapé, that’s used in our dwelling place.
How have you been let down by love?
Do you ever feel reticent to love?
How have you been encouraged, comforted, valued, supported, cared for, known, built up by love?
Has your experience of love influenced how you understand, receive or reciprocate God’s love, positively or negatively?
God wants to hear your heart.
Taken from dwell by Anne by Anne Le Tissier
Dwell invites you to slow down and reflect on one short Bible passage over the course of a week in a way that can be fitted into even the busiest schedule.
Through guided questions or exercises each day that draw on different aspects of the Bible verses, Anne Le Tissier helps you to understand, participate in and be shaped by what you have read. Dwelling in Scripture in this way enables God's words to make a home in your heart long after the week has passed.
Let God's Word dwell in you as you grow closer to him, one verse at a time.