I Corinthians 13 is probably one of the most well known passages of Scripture in the Bible. Personally, I have always been drawn to it, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Why do people like it so much? Is it because of the beautiful words, or the poetic nature of it? I tend to think that people are drawn to the idea of love.
You see it everywhere you look. From the time children are little they see it in fairy tales; the princess is swept off her feet by Prince Charming and they live happily ever after. You see it in school, girls and boys looking for love to make them feel “loved.” We see it now every time we turn on our televisions, people wanting to be equal and “just love each other.” Everyone wants to love and be loved. But really, do we even know what love is?
Love isn’t anything that we could conjure up on our own. Love isn’t butterflies in your stomach, or roses on your doorstep, or doing the dishes after dinner. Love is something from God’s heart, not ours. The concept of love has been so polluted, that when true love is sitting right in front of people, knocking at their door, they turn away.
In I John 4:8, it says that God is love. Take the portion of scripture in I Corinthians and replace the word ‘love’ with the word ‘God.’ Our whole walk with the Lord is our own personal love story. God is the very meaning of love. So, in the times where we feel as if we can’t love someone, remember that God has put his very heart inside us; we need to depend on that, and not our own hearts. This world needs a heart, it needs His heart – that with each heartbeat pulses a love that nothing else can compare to. We need to lay down our hearts of stone and flesh, and take on the heart of love itself – Jesus Christ.
- Alissa Stupiello, Second Year student
