Recently, I have been reading in 1 Corinthians again and of course, 1 Corinnthians 13 gets me every time. This was the verse that jumped off the page this morning:
So, no matter what I say, what I believe, what I do, I'm bankrupt without love!
1 Corinthians 13:3
Bankrupt. That's intense. Bankrupt means "unable to pay debts" and some synonyms are "broke", "cleaned out" and "ruined".
Think about that. I am ruined without love. I am broke without love. In essence, my life means absolutely nothing if I don't have love and allow that love to overwhelm all I think, say and do! WOW! I am definitely still chewing on this and its implications but I wanted to share.
The other portion of scripture that stood out in 1 Corinthians was this:
Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly! And the best of the three is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Love extravagantly! When I hear this phrase it makes me think "over the top" type love and I start to think that's a little much. But then God reminds me of how He loved extravagantly in sending Jesus, the perfect Savior and I am both awed and humbled. One of the many definitions for extravagant is "beyond what is reasonable". I like that and at the same time recognize that is why my first thought is "that's a little much"! Of course it is! It's beyond reasonable!
I can at least attempt to love like this! I probably won't get it right but I'd rather be accussed of attempting to love extravagantly then being bankrupt from a lack of love. I love bcause He first loved me!
Lord, help me to love extravagantly and every day to look more and more like You in my love!
