The Greatest of These is Love!

         The month of February seemed to tip-toe in silently during the wee small hours of the evening. One day I was checking my calendar, watching January clinging to every last second of 2013, and the next thing I knew, February had already moved her sweet little self in and had hung heart covered curtains in the windows. How is it that time, that finite number of minutes, hours, days,  . . . can sometimes move so slow and other times pass us by in the blink of an eye?
          As February made her appearance, so too did a lesson on love arrive at my doorstep. Last week, I sat at my desk tapping away at the keys on my computer as I diligently composed the words that would make up the lesson plans for the the children's services on Sunday. The subject matter seemed fitting, 1 Corinthians 13, "Love is patient, love is kind . . .". After all, February is the month of love so discussing what love actually means is appropriate. I guess those who determined the order of the lectionary readings also found that placing 1 Corinthians 13 somewhere in February was appropriate also. The children were enthused in our discussion of love pointing out quickly all of the people that they naturally loved like mommy's and daddy's and their dogs and cats. They were more reticent to admit that they loved their brothers and sisters and somewhat surprised that they needed to love their siblings and friends even when they did something that was not to their liking.
         In almost every lesson that I teach, I find myself learning a lesson or two from the small yet very sage little friends sitting in front of me. This past Sunday's lesson on love was no exception as one child raised her hand and said, "I think love is hard. I mean when my little brother pulls my hair and messes up my room, I just really want to punch him real hard on the arm. But I don't do it." When I asked her why she didn't, this little student of mine simply said, "Well, because I would get in trouble and then I'd have to talk, like forever, with my mom and dad about how I am supposed to love my brother and all."  I always find that children  have such a wonderful way of getting down to the nitty gritty point of most things. And this little girl hit the nail on the head! The message of love is exactly the act of not punching your brother when he makes you angry. Love endures all.  It does not harbor ill will. And love is hard. It takes strength not to let the forceful emotion of anger or resentment or self gain to get in the way of love.
         In thinking over the response of my little student to what she perceived love to be, I wondered to myself if I show that much patience and strength to people that I am "supposed" to love. Do I always hold my tongue and not say something right back in defense of myself to a perceived wrong? Is the fact that there is not a parent there telling me that I should be patient and kind in spite of feeling wronged giving me false permission to not be patient and to defend myself in order to feel instant gratification in being righted of my wrongs? The more I pondered this idea, the more I painfully realized that I actually was less loving at times towards others than a child who showed restraint to getting even with her little brother's wrong doings. This little girl actually got it. Love indeed does endure all things. Love really is patient and kind.
         As  adults, we all experience different degrees of love for family, friends, and coworkers. What is somewhat ironic is the fact that as our degree of understanding of love has grown with our maturity as adults, our ability to practice the act of love is sometimes less than what we practiced as children. Thankfully, as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 13: 13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." The act of love as humans will always be difficult and uncomfortable at times; however, we know that through our faith and hope in God that we are strengthened in his love and in turn we are able to love others as he asks us to do. We can all take heart that Love indeed is the greatest gift we receive and that we can also bestow on one another.