If I Do Not Have Love

Can You Imagine Your Life Without Love?

Can you imagine your life WITHOUT LOVE? I can't. Rather, I don't want to. I want nothing to do with a life without love. As a matter of fact, there are areas in my life I'm working hard to restore the love. These areas cause me a great deal of pain and discomfort. "No love" hurts, and if you're honest you'll agree. There are areas in my life, and there are some areas in your life that are WITHOUT LOVE, and I want to change that! Who's with me?

I Corinthians 13:8a - "Love never fails;"

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I don't know about you, I worry. I fight against worrying, but sometimes life knocks me down I get weary, and when I'm weary I tend to worry. Don't you? 

1 Corinthians 13:1 - "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

And, when I worry I hurt, sometimes deeply. Worrying is painful and sad, at least it is for me. There's no love in worry.

When I worry, I don't feel love, I don't experience love, and it's hard to love, and it's even harder to be loved when I worry. I worry about my family.

1 Corinthians 13:2 - "If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

One particular area in my life where I have a recent loss of love is with my family, specifically with a sibling. I will spare the details, but to say the flow of love has stopped is an understatement. I hurt. They hurt. I grieve. They grieve.

I've asked forgiveness, I have forgiven. No one is at fault, not really. Love covers all sin. We've all been forgiven by God, and now we wait for reconciliation. I believe it will happen, no doubt - full restoration... but until it does happen, I hurt.

1 Corinthians 13:3 - "And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

I love my entire family, each and every one of them. They are my family, and, I know how much God loves them. But I still worry.

I would lay my life down for my family, each and every one of them. I pray for them and for us, I pray for "complete restoration." I believe, and my belief is growing stronger every day.

1 Corinthians 13:4 - "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,"

But like you and your family, my family has internal conflict and strife, and it's painful for everyone. I don't mind telling the world, I HURT!

1 Corinthians 13:5 - "does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,"

I hurt for myself and I hurt for my entire family. It's hard on us all. AND I PRAY IT IS RESOLVED SOON! 

I don't even know how it got this way. I don't know how it all started. I just know there is a sense of loss and regret... an absence, an emptiness, and a big hole in my heart. I still believe, even more, today than yesterday.

1 Corinthians 13:6 - "does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;"

It's been going on for years now, and we all have tried to resolve the issues.

1 Corinthians 13:7 - "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

We've used the soft approach, the direct approach, the third-party approach and we've run out of approaches. 

1 Corinthians 13:8 - "Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away."

There's no visible love between certain members of my family right now, and it's sad. I do have several regrets, and I've sought forgiveness and I've openly given forgiveness and will continue to do so.

1 Corinthians 13:9 - "For we know in part and we prophesy in part;"

Is it my fault, their fault, or a mixture? All I know is there were accusations, claims of betrayal, and now, there's a lot of hurt and mistrust - and no love. A normal American family I guess.

1 Corinthians 13:10 - "but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away."

I know every family goes through various ordeals and trials of all kinds. I am going through one now, it's not the first but I hope it's the last. I trust God to resolve this and that's not all. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things."

Pray for me, and I will pray for you! We are all in it together. God's love will triumph in our lives, there's no doubt for me. It may take time, but I believe in LOVE!

1 Corinthians 13:12 - "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

The truth is that I love my family and I am willing to fight for love. I want the fullness of love in my life and that would include every member of my family. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 - "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." 

Like I said before, I don't want to imagine a life without love. I don't want to think about it or even consider the possibility. NOPE! I'd rather focus on love and fight to believe all things are possible in Christ, including the complete restoration and healing of my entire family. What about you?