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. Love never ends. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV
Love doesn’t insist on its own way. Another translation says, "Love doesn't seek its own."
Love looks after others’ needs before taking care of itself.
This is what Jesus did for us. He saw our desperate need for someone to rescue us. I know this isn’t how I thought of it when I first came to Him; I just knew there was something missing in my life. I never had close friends and never felt completely accepted by people. I was a good girl by most standards, but I always felt like I was never quite good enough to fit in anywhere. I felt like nobody other than my mom ever saw the real me or even cared to. I was actually preventing people from seeing the real me by just showing them what I thought they wanted to see. I was afraid people found find out how far from good I really was. In short, I was kind of a mess but didn’t really know it.
Jesus knew my real need. He knew that I never felt quite good enough because I wasn’t. On my own, I was never going to be able to get to a place where I felt the love and acceptance I wanted because I kept missing the mark of perfection. That’s what sin is: falling short of perfection. The not-quite-belonging feeling was from the separation of my spirit from God, a separation that I could never fix by myself because of my sin.
So, Jesus fixed it for me. He loved me, so He gave up everything to meet my need (and the need of everybody else) to be rescued. By His death, He healed my relationship with Himself. When I accepted His gift, I finally found that acceptance and sense of belonging that I so desperately needed.
It’s overwhelming at times, to know how much God loves me.
I want to love others the way Jesus loves me. I want to follow His example and put others’ needs above my own, so they can see Him in me and find that healing I found in Him. That’s what we all need, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, - Philippians 2:3-5 ESV
Think About:
Have you received God's selfless love by accepting Jesus into your life?
What can you do to meet others’ need before your own today?
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