"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."
Moroni 7:45-47
So many good things to remember and learn here. Charity is the pure love of Christ. If we have it at the last day, things will apparently be okay for us. And then a lot of help with what it is and isn't, which helps us to learn it.
Suffereth long: to me, that seems like patience. If we love as Christ does, we're willing to endure trials, and we don't just jump ship when it gets difficult. We stick in there, learn the lesson, and help others to learn good things and to get through it as well.
Is kind: well, that one might be clear all by itself, but I love it anyway. We could use so much more kindness in the world, and I think it is one of the things that we forget easily as we go throughout our days.
Envieth not: we're not always looking for what other people have. We're okay with what we have, and we know we can make do, and if not for some reason, God will provide. We're not willing to trade our goodwill or our integrity for anything.
Is not puffed up: we don't think that we're better than other people. We're not prideful, thinking that we have better stuff, and we don't place ourselves above others.
Seeketh not her own: very interesting one. I think it means that we're not being selfish. Maybe also that we don't only seek out people like us, but we're willing to interact and learn about a variety of different kinds of people. Also, we're willing to share... we don't need to have a pile of toys and for no one else to have any in order to be happy or feel fulfilled.
Is not easily provoked: we don't have big red neon buttons that other people can push to make us angry. We're able to bridle our emotions--not saying turn them off, but control them--and we are able to choose calmness and rationality when we discuss ideas.
Thinketh no evil: this is awesome stuff. It reminds me of Alma 19:33 "... their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil." We've had that mighty change of heart, and we don't want evil things that throw wrenches into life and relationships. We know that God's way will help everyone, and we don't ponder the evil alternatives. :)
So many more. We rejoice in the truth, and not in bad stuff that we do. We bear and endure, similar to suffering long. We don't freak out. We deal with reality, and we don't lose patience with God's timing. Believing and hoping all things... we're committed to God. We don't shrink from his truth, and we throw ourselves into it, knowing that he will hold us up and fulfill his promises. We have hope in our futures and in the world and in other people. We can believe in them, and help them to achieve more and to be more... and with God, we can achieve anything together.
It's a lot of things to include in a definition of love, but I think that's what makes God's love so astounding. We love in such selfish and corrupt ways sometimes... and here, God is helping us understand what true love really is, that it is the "greatest of all," and if we learn it, it can never fail us. ... Today, let's start learning it. Let's pick one aspect that we aren't really good at and start incorporating it into our lives.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."
Moroni 7:45-47
So many good things to remember and learn here. Charity is the pure love of Christ. If we have it at the last day, things will apparently be okay for us. And then a lot of help with what it is and isn't, which helps us to learn it.
Suffereth long: to me, that seems like patience. If we love as Christ does, we're willing to endure trials, and we don't just jump ship when it gets difficult. We stick in there, learn the lesson, and help others to learn good things and to get through it as well.
Is kind: well, that one might be clear all by itself, but I love it anyway. We could use so much more kindness in the world, and I think it is one of the things that we forget easily as we go throughout our days.
Envieth not: we're not always looking for what other people have. We're okay with what we have, and we know we can make do, and if not for some reason, God will provide. We're not willing to trade our goodwill or our integrity for anything.
Is not puffed up: we don't think that we're better than other people. We're not prideful, thinking that we have better stuff, and we don't place ourselves above others.
Seeketh not her own: very interesting one. I think it means that we're not being selfish. Maybe also that we don't only seek out people like us, but we're willing to interact and learn about a variety of different kinds of people. Also, we're willing to share... we don't need to have a pile of toys and for no one else to have any in order to be happy or feel fulfilled.
Is not easily provoked: we don't have big red neon buttons that other people can push to make us angry. We're able to bridle our emotions--not saying turn them off, but control them--and we are able to choose calmness and rationality when we discuss ideas.
Thinketh no evil: this is awesome stuff. It reminds me of Alma 19:33 "... their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil." We've had that mighty change of heart, and we don't want evil things that throw wrenches into life and relationships. We know that God's way will help everyone, and we don't ponder the evil alternatives. :)
So many more. We rejoice in the truth, and not in bad stuff that we do. We bear and endure, similar to suffering long. We don't freak out. We deal with reality, and we don't lose patience with God's timing. Believing and hoping all things... we're committed to God. We don't shrink from his truth, and we throw ourselves into it, knowing that he will hold us up and fulfill his promises. We have hope in our futures and in the world and in other people. We can believe in them, and help them to achieve more and to be more... and with God, we can achieve anything together.
It's a lot of things to include in a definition of love, but I think that's what makes God's love so astounding. We love in such selfish and corrupt ways sometimes... and here, God is helping us understand what true love really is, that it is the "greatest of all," and if we learn it, it can never fail us. ... Today, let's start learning it. Let's pick one aspect that we aren't really good at and start incorporating it into our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment