Today as I boiled spaghetti noodles and browned ground beef in my kitchen, I reflected on the spring semester that had just ended: mainly French class and the people I had met there. French was one of the classes that I just didn't care about. This was my third year of the language, and I had spent it reviewing the grammar I had learned during the first two. I rarely attended class, and the times that I did decide to show up for class I spent the two hours completely aloof. Sometimes I would even boldly place my cell phone on the desk and play Angry Birds. Not once over the past four months did I mention my love for Jesus Christ to my classmates. Not even when a few of us got together outside of the classroom to finish our French work did I speak a word about the Man I supposedly live my life for. As I stirred the now brown beef into a pan of tomato sauce and seasonings, I reflected upon a passage from the Bible.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, 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. (NIV)
I have heard this passage in reference to marriage, and I have also considered it as a definition for God (...God is love 1 John 4:8 NIV, replace love with God in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and you have a few characteristics of who He is), but when I factor in my own vows of love to my friends and family, I get an entirely new concept for an answer. I claim to do things for people because I "love" them, but if I really love them they should walk away from an experience with me wanting to know Jesus. Perhaps it is time for me to do a self-check of my heart.
...Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe. 1 Corinthians 11:28 MSG
