1 Cor. 13: 4-7 KJV
[4] Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,[5] Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;[6] Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;[7] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
- Charity is a term in Christian theology (one of the three theological virtues), meaning loving kindness towards others; it is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. In its most extreme form charity can be self-sacrificial. Charity is one conventional English translation of the Greek term agape.
1 Cor. 13: 4-7 NIV
[4]Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5]It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6]Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7]It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
God is love. I would like anyone who happens to read this to do a self evaluation, if you have done this before, that's fine, do it again. Find out the areas you need improvement, ask God to help you with them.
Okay. For the NIV translation, in every place where love is inserted, replace love with God or Jesus. (change other nouns and such as required to make good English).
Now what you have is a clear picture of God and his perfect love for us. Now the self evaluation part, instead of replacing love with God or Jesus, put your name there.
How true was that sentence? For me I have certainly missed the mark today. If you failed that self evaluation as miserably as I did join in and say this prayer with me.
Heavenly Father, whose grace and mercy endures forever, forgive me where I have fallen short of your glory, help me to forgive others the way that you do. Help me to love them the way You love them. Mold me Lord into what you would have me to be. Make me more like you. Give me a willingness to change, mold my heart into your image. Make me patient like you, kind like you. Help me not to boast or be proud. Let me no longer be rude or self seeking. Make me slow to anger, Lord let me keep no record of wrongs. Make me so that I abhor what is evil and cling to what is good and true. Through You Lord may I always protect, always trust. always hope, always persevere. Make me this way and be glorified Lord. Give me full repentance of my sins. May all that I do, say, and think glorify your name and please you. I ask these things of you in the name of Jesus because only you can make them happen, your son who died for me, who paid my debt in full.
3 comments:
This is a great self evaluation. As Chtistians, we should strive to be like Christ and it is true that Christ exhibited these qualities. In stiving to be as Him, simply substituting our name in place of His and seeing how we measure up should be a pretty good litmus test of our current character.
Love Ya Brother
Man, you don't know how bad I needed to read that! This post hit home with me. Thanks Jack!
{{{JACK}}} Where have you guys been...none of ya'll have been blogging lately! I miss reading your thoughts....come on back!
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