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1 Corinthians 13:1-7,13
New Living Translation
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
What is love? Love is sacrifice, compromise, compassion. Love does conquer all. Jesus' love for us conquered hell and death. Dr. King's message of love and nonviolence overcame segregation. Love rejoices with you in good times and is there to hold your hand in bad times. Love accepts you the way you are. Love doesn't give up on you. Love has the audacity to hope, has the audacity to have faith even when circumstances at the time don't reflect the outcome. Love is not afraid of anything. Love is forgiveness.
The audacity of love. Jesus had the audacity to give His life for you. That's love. Dr. King had the audacity to follow the teaching of Jesus and tell people to love people that spat on them, turned hoses and dogs on them, lynched them. When you look back over your life, there has been someone who had the audacity to love you when you were unlovable.
Simply put, God is love.
1 John 4:18 (New American Standard Bible)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.