Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-6

It is hard to argue against the thought that Paul was the greatest theologian of his day. The other apostles recognized the significance of his words (II Peter 3: 15-16).

With that in mind, Paul’s theology was generally one that he was living not teaching in a seminary. Gordon Fee wrote that Paul’s theology “takes place in the marketplace, where belief and the experience of God run head-on into the thought systems, religions, and everyday life of people in the Greco-Roman world.”

Paul’s description of Biblical love is just that – where belief and experience collide head-on. After stating that Love is patient and kind, he lists a series of is not/does not statements – in Christian love, there is no room for envy or boasting, arrogance, or rudeness. Love doesn’t insist on “my way or the highway,” but first considers the needs of others. Love is not irritable. It does not resent others or rejoice in the wrong, instead, it rejoices in the truth.

Read through those verses again and use them as a mirror in your life. How would our daily interactions be different if we practiced what we read?