charity: love in action

CHARITY

suffereth long,

and is kind;

charity envieth not,

charity vaunteth not itself,

is not puffed up,

doth not behave itself unseemly,

seeketh not her own,

is not eaily provoked,

thinketh no evil,

rejoiceth not in iniquity,

but rejoiceth in the truth;

beareth all things,

believeth all things,

hopeth all things,

endureth all things;

charity never faileth:

I Corinthians 13:4-8

Since the theme of February is Love, I decided the children and I would read through I Corinthians 13, the chapter in the Bible on Charity, Love in Action. I also wanted a simple project to work on, so as a handwriting exercise I had Ella practice cursive and Roone practice printing by writing every other line of the verses specifically describing Charity. We read the chapter out loud many times as well. I also had the children draw and decorate hearts which we used as a border for the writing piece.

A couple of years ago I was reading this chapter and actually grew discouraged by all the ways it seemed I was not loving! Really, how many times have I behaved myself unseemly?  And what about bearing all things? Am I really up for that?

It's a wonderful thing that God gives His Spirit to live in those who believe in Him, because at the time I was so discouraged the Spirit nudged me with the truth of Who is the definition of Love. The Bible defines God is Love. What a relief. This chapter isn't a standard which I have to meet, it's the Person of God Himself.

And since I have Emmanuel, God with Me He is the One who Loves me and works in me to Love others.

So now I look at the actions of Love in I Corinthians 13 as wonderfully encouraging, and it was sweet to communicate these truths to my children over the past couple weeks.