Only One Question Matters When Life is Over, Did I Love?
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Written by Jimmie Burroughs 
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Did I Love? Answer it while there is still life to live…
Better to suffer the agony of hardships in this life with love than to have riches without it. Someone said that when life is over, there are only three things that matter: did I live? Did I love? Did I matter? I believe the other two are determined by “Did I Love”. The world today is engrossed in material things, pleasure and notoriety, but those things do not fill the heart, only love can do that; while there is still time, express love.
The clasic statement on love is found in the Bible:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 for we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:1-13)
These verses reveal that love is far greater than those things that men might generally consider great:
Gifted or affluent
It is a good thing to be gifted or affluent, but that nowhere near compares with having love reign in your life.
Great Oratory skills
Who wouldn’t like to be a renowned, gifted orator who could move an audience and hold them spellbound with words. But to do so without love, according to the Apostle, is as useless as a tinkling symbol blowing in the wind. Not to love and be loved is a life spent in vain, empty and void of all that really matters. Riches alone are like the Scrooge of the Christmas classic, an existence of loneliness, worthlessness and coldness.
Knowledge
What if beside your name is the symbol of the highest mark of education, and you have the prestige of being a person of great knowledge; without love it is nothing. Nothingness is what all life is without love. A cold loveless heart is a dead heart, ready for the grave and judgment. I think at the judgment the great question will be: “Did you love?”
Faith
As great as faith is, it still falls under the judgment of being nothing without love. Even if it could move mountains in this life, without love it is nothing. To change the face of the earth with many improvements is nothing without love. Establishing institutions of higher learning, programs of service and outlets of benevolence…nothing without love.
Sacrifice
What if I sell all that I have and give it to feed the poor and set up foundations to help the needy so I can boast of my sacrifices and proclaim my good deeds; it is nothing without love. Love is more than the things we do; it is the core of our existence, the attitude of our heart, the motivator of our life, and all we do or accomplish without it is vain, useless and nothing.
These verses tell what love is:
What some may count as achieving a life of purpose falls short of what really matters when life on earth is over. Love is all we take with us. Love is defined as follows:
The Patience of Love
By showing our impatience we show our lack of love. We do not become patient by our self efforts but by our growing love for others. Love lets itself be known through patience. A little child depends on his overseer for instruction and guidance and because he does not yet know how to behave, his actions put a strain on our patience but love understands and shows patience. Patience with others even though their actions don’t measure up is how love acts.
Kindness the Mark of Love
To those whose attitude in life is marked by crankiness, irritability and unkind words, yours can be explained in three words, “lack of love”; love is kindness and a pleasant smile. A kind word is uplifting even to a broken heart. In a world of selfishness, it is a breath of fresh air to be the recipient of kind words from a loving heart. A line from one of Hank William senior’s county songs is so true, “Unkind words make the teardrops fall”. How much better love is that lifts the heart and wipes away the tears.
Love is the opposite of envy
Love is the opposite of Envy; envy hates those who succeed and those who have. It cannot stand to be less, but always must be ahead of all others in all things. Envy is also the opposite of humble. It cannot see the true values of life but only measures by physical possessions. Love on the other hand is at peace with itself and content where it is and measures value by quality instead of quantity. Love is happy for others who excel and puts others ahead of themselves by choice.
Love wants others to excel therefore does not boast
Love is humble, objective and feels totally at ease. It has no need to boast because it wants others to be first. It does not flatter nor does it need adulation, but is comfortable right where it is and is confident in all things, never seeking praise but always praising when it is due.
Love Takes pride in others-not self
Pride comes before a fall but love continues to do its work because it does not seek its own but others. It takes pride but never in self, only in the Lord and the achievements of others. There is really no place for pride, because others readily recognize the genuineness.
Love honors others and never dishonors them
Love would never choose to have fun at some else’s expense but chooses to be the object of the joke themselves. They willingly laugh at themselves. They are not intimidated or belittled. They must honor and would never dishonor someone else. They choose to lift others up and never put them down.
Love seeks others and is not self-seeking
We live in a world where it seems that everyone is looking out for #1 or self. Nevertheless that is not a description of love, because love is the opposite; it is looking out for others first, then self; what a switch from the ordinary. You might be wondering, does anyone really do that and the answer is yes, a lot more than you would probably ever imagine. We are so used to seeing the other side, it is hard to imagine that anyone would actually think of someone else first. It is more common on the battlefield where people risk their own lives for others and sometimes lose it for others.
Love is mild mannered and is not easily angered
Anger probably ruins more relationships than anything else, “In anger unkind words are said that make the teardrops fall”; it is easy to say unkind words in anger but it is hard to take them back. Saying unkind words out of anger is like opening a feather pillow and scattering it to the wind, once done it is near impossible to repair the damage. Anger is an emotional drive which we all have, that must be addressed and never abused; red hair and family genes is no excuse. It is something we all must address in our own lives before it destroys every relationship and even our own life. There is no better way to deal with anger than to let love take its place, because love is not easily angered.
Love keeps no record of wrongs
The holding of grudges hurt only one person and that is the one holding them. Love keeps no record of wrong doings. Being wronged by others, even sometimes by those closest to us, is a common occurrence in life. It can wreck our life by letting those wrong doings build up grudges in our heart. What is the answer? Only one will work and that is forgiveness through love. This is unconditional forgiveness even when it is not requested. The truth is, we can never control what others choose to do, but we can control how we respond to what they do.
Love is good and never delights in evil
It is strange that human nature sometimes enjoys the pain of others but love never does. Evil garners a lot more attention in the news than does benevolence and good. The horrendous aftermath of the storms we see each year across the United State might be “ho hum” to some or “oh well it happens”. I’m sure though if it was their home destroyed or their love ones dead it would be a different matter all together. Love is sympathetic or empathetic to the pain of others and wants to help relieve their pain and suffering if possible.
Love rejoices with the truth
It sometimes hard to know the truth in a world filled with untruths and cover-ups and downright lies. Nevertheless, truth can be found for those who seek it. Keep in mind that there are many who don’t want you to know the truth and will try to keep it from you. It is amazing to me that even parents sometimes scoff at their own children and ridicule them when they discover the truth of God. One of the greatest evidences that you have God’s love within your heart is when you take joy in the truth and when you take joy when others discover the truth.
Here are a few more ways that love acts:
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” But the greatest of these is love.
If you think that love is unattainable based on the above, I would have to agree because it goes beyond the human scope. The kind of love described here is of God. Yes it is God’s love for us but it can also be God’s love in us.
There are four Greek words for love, two are mentioned in the Bible, “Agape” and “Phileo”. Phileo is love on a human plane and can also be a very high form of love. Agape, which is the word used for love in I Corinthians 13, is the kind of love God has, but it is also the kind of love he wants us to have; but it is only possible through a personal relationship with him. God desires a very close relationship with each person; in fact he wants to live within your spirit. When God lives within you, then you can let the light of his love shine through your life. This is called the fruit of the spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faith, meekness and temperance (God’s love revealed). Galatians 5:21.
Conclusion:
It is true that Christians sometimes dam up this love and refuse to let it work through their life, but it is there and available to all who believe. If you would like to know more on how you can have this relationship with God and enjoy the presence of this kind of love in your life, please take time now and learn how to have a relationship with God.
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Jimmie Burroughs is the author of JimmieBurroughs.com ; get more tips on personal development: www.JimmieBurroughs.com
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