Love According to God
1 Corinthians 13:3-5 (New International Version)
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love as described by Martin Luther
(Second sermon John 3, 16-21 Pentecost Monday)
As there is no greater Giver than God, so there is no greater virtue, either in God or men, than love. One will sacrifice everything for what he loves, even his life. Patience, humility and all other virtues are nothing compared with it, or else are included in its essence. For whom I love, with him I will certainly never be angry, nor injure nor annoy him, nor make myself intolerable to him, but I will be ready to serve, counsel and help him whenever I see that he needs me. In short, I am his fully, as to my body, goods and all my possessions.
Accordingly, the heart shall grow and become strong against all sorrow, because such wealth of unfathomable divine love is set before us flowing from a fatherly heart and having its source in the highest virtue, which is the fountain of all good…..
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Questions for reflection around Valentine’s Day: