1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV): Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
GOD is LOVE, and He INSPIRES LOVE in us for Him and for others; and there is NO GREATER LOVE than GOD's.
GOD's LOVE HEALS, REDEEMS, and SAVES.
GOD's LOVE ENCOURAGES, INSTRUCTS, and UPLIFTS.
GOD's LOVE AFFIRMS and EMPOWERS.
GOD's LOVE HONORS and PROTECTS.
GOD's LOVE FORGIVES and RECONCILES, KEEPING NO RECORD of WRONGS.
GOD's LOVE BUILDS UP and DRAWS CLOSER.
GOD's LOVE is PATIENT and KIND; and GOD's LOVE REJOICES IN TRUTH.
GOD's LOVE FLOWS through JESUS and DWELLS in the HOLY SPIRIT, and within each of us who have SURRENDERED our HEARTS, our MINDS, our SOULS, our STRENGTH, and our LIVES to GOD, this GOD, who is LOVE, LIVES, ABIDES, and WORKS through us, and as we BEAR the FRUIT of HIS SPIRIT (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control), we become what GOD CREATED US TO BE--HIS AMBASSADORS, HIS LOVE LETTERS, HIS LOVE NOTES from generation to generation throughout the world.
And this is the GREATEST GIFT of GOD's SPIRIT, the TRUE MESSAGE of GOD's SON, and the REAL TENOR of GOD's WORD: LOVE.
THIS is the GOSPEL: For GOD so LOVED the world that HE GAVE His only Begotten SON that whoever BELIEVES IN HIM shall not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE.
THIS is GOD's WORD: JESUS CHRIST is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY, and FOREVER, and JESUS IS the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, and NO ONE COMES to the FATHER except THROUGH HIM.
And THIS is the SPIRIT of GOD: He knows the plans He has for us, PLANS to PROSPER and not harm us, PLANS to GIVE US HOPE and a FUTURE, and though we are hard-pressed on every side, we are not crushed, though we are perplexed, we are not in despair, though we are persecuted, we are not forsaken, though we are struck down, we are not destroyed, because GOD IS WITH US, and HE WORKS ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR OUR GOOD because WE LOVE HIM, and we are the CALLED ACCORDING to HIS PURPOSE.
GOD hasn't given us a spirit of fear but of POWER, LOVE, and a SOUND MIND, and GOD's PERFECT LOVE casts out all fear because fear has to do with torment (punishment). And THIS is LOVE--unfailing and enduring; THIS is OUR GOD, the GOD of HOPE, COMFORT, MERCY, FORGIVENESS, RECONCILIATION, and PEACE: GOD who is GOOD, GOD who is JUST, and GOD who is LOVE.
