Love Yourselves To Love Others, Time to Stop Loving Yourself Above All Else

They do not truly love who do not show their love. —Shakespeare


Now we know what Shakespeare had to say about love, but what does the author of Love has to say about it?

1 Corinthian answers these questions:
I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries
and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing. I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned.a But if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.

This is what Love acts like:

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. It isn’t happy when injustice is done,but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.

Can Love Go away?

Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used. Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete. But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me. So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

What is your angle on LOVE?

Are you able to see clearly the object of your affections - let's refer to our information "Love Angle":


Loving people the way they need to be loved does not always coincide with the way they want to be loved. Agreement will necessitate maturity of discernment.

In thinking about loving someone as we should, there is a very important factor of love that is overlooked, in my opinion, and that is intent. We cannot truly love someone without our intent being, caring for and commitment toward, the receiving individual. In other words, whomever that intent is in favor of is whom the object of our “love” is directed at. This is how we know if we are in fact in love with someone else or simply in love with ourselves.

If our actions are ultimately neglecting the nurturing, encouragement, or support of the one we are in the relationship with, then whether our intent is to do that or not it is still happening to them. We cannot see how harmful our actions, words, etc are unless we are open to looking at our true love angle.

It is important to understand neglectful behavior happens when we commit to relationship, but then do not have the discipline or selflessness to follow through due to lack of discipline within ourselves. This has to do with areas in which we as individuals have to address maturity principles and seek wisdom.

Our word “understand” is from a Hebrew word, BYIN –which means to discern , perceive, observe, pay attention, to be intelligent, to heed, to instruct, to teach, to attend to, to be sensible. It pertains to superior knowledge. One must know how to use information wisely, we perceive through our senses. As Jesus noted in Matt 13:13 it is possible to hear without perceiving. This understanding is a gift from God. We can pray for it and God can reveal it. The seat for this ethical insight is the heart. (Proverbs 28:5) We must diligently pursue it.

My Prayer for us all is that we mature into our head, which is Christ. Then our love will be complete; missing nothing!  Don't hyper focus on how much you have to grow, rest in Him to finish the good work He began in you.....just like the rest of us, you have some maturing to do!

Much love to you all~kisses
Candace

©Candace Huffmaster 2005 All Rights Reserved