Difficult love

"Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (The Message)

      Love in its purest sense is a hard thing to understand. I mean how difficult is it to always look for the best when you feel hurt? Or never looking back to the past when it seems like all the enemy does is remind you of your past. Love quite possibly could be one of the most difficult characteristics to engender. Because it requires so many different actions that run counter to our human nature.

      But God didn't ask us to "love our neighbor as He loved us,"? He commanded us to do so and offered us His help in doing so. We cannot love like He expects without having Him guide us along the way in showing us how to love.

       Consider Jesus, a man who was beaten beyond physical recognition, tortured incessantly, and ended up saying, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." That is the example of love that 1 Corinthians 13 chooses to demonstrate. It's a hard task I know, but it's a worthwhile endeavor that we should allow Him to teach us.