Love is unselfish, willing to sacrifice, and ready to serve. Real love is committed to someone else’s best interest. So how does divine love act?

1 Corinthians 13

Patient ~ love that waits with contentment. What does that look like? I wait without demanding change. I wait without anger. I wait without anxiety.

Kind ~ love that initiates to help meet a need (see a need – meet a need). This includes those who are not kind to us.

Not Jealous ~ love that trusts instead of controls. Choosing to trust builds a love relationship and keeps that relationship strong.

Not Envious ~ love that trusts God and it content with what He gives.

Does not brag ~ love speaks of others more than oneself.

Not arrogant ~ loves that stays humble and inflates others instead of itself.

Is not rude ~ love has good manners. Emily Post (1922, ‘Miss Manners’) said, “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”

Does not seek its own ~ love that has a servant spirit. Love that surrenders its rights.

Love is not provoked ~ love that has a slow fuse. It doesn’t fly off the handle.

Does not take into account a wrong suffered ~ love that forgives. This supernatural love empowers us to forgive, regardless of the circumstances.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness ~ love avoids all sin. Love always steers us away from sin, not toward it. but rejoices with the truth ~ love joyfully partners with the truth (honesty). “Love finds no joy in hanging out with sin but loves to party with the truth.”

Love bears all things ~ love that hangs tough. Tolerating imperfections. Accepting personal differences. Overlooking selfishness.

Believes all things ~ love that communicates confidence. Real love makes us willing to believe the best about someone in the absence of absolute proof to the contrary.

Love hopes all things ~ love that is optimistic and smiles at the future.

Endures all things ~ love that is willing to suffer. A willingness to persist through the pain.

Love never fails ~ love that works, even when put to the test.

Invest in what will last. Love is eternal – it never goes out of style.