1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.



When I was young and being raised on biblical principles I thought this was the way I was supposed to demonstrate love for everyone.

But I quickly learned through hard knocks and experience that abiding by biblical teachings left me extremely vulnerable to the reality that most people don't equate love with good character traits and how we treat each other respectfully and with tolerance.

In fact, I was seen more as a weakling, someone who could be easily taken advantage of because of my religious beliefs and practices. And I was told the only way I would ever be accepted into the general population is if I give up these practices, turn my back on my core beliefs.

But even if you take the girl out of the church you can never take the church out of the girl, so to speak.



Well, my question to other people who read the bible and try to emulate their lives after its teachings is...

The bible says that God is LOVE. And LOVE is all of the above ^^^... and Jesus was sent down here to earth to teach us these principles in the life He lived and then sacrificed for us so we could eventually go to heaven and be with the trinity forever.

But is it really possible for mere mortals to possess similar strengths of character to love each other the way God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit loves us?

No, but it's a good goal to aim for try your best to accomplish regardless of the trips and falls.

I fear its the trips and falls that have made me so determined not to be a glutton for undeserved punishment that I've gone from one extreme to the other.

I know faith without works is dead. But it's so hard to do what we've been instructed to do because it's easier just to go along to get along. Even if I feel like I'm betraying everything I believe in just to be accepted. It really SUCKS!

It's hard, nobody accepts nobody unless they are just like them these days.

You're absolutely right...



But sometimes we can still share our love even though we are so different.

beautiful

Of course we can't do so with our own strength.
That is why we need the Holy Spirit to do so through us.

Galatians 2:20





1 Corinthians 12:27





Ephesians 4:30-32





1 Corinthians 6:19-20

amen :) very beautiful.

1 Corinthians 13:13





There's nothing on earth as valuable as faith, hope and love. With these 3 simple elements that come naturally to us if we feed and nourish them they will grow stronger and unbreakable.

Matthew 17:20





Hebrews 6:19





1 Corithians 13:7





Love is what keeps everything together cohesively.

Colossians 3:12-14

Proverbs 3:3