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LIFE Posts - Focus on Love

LIFE Posts - Focus on Love

Last week we discussed the importance of keeping our focus on Jesus instead of the distractions of the world.  This week we look at Paul’s discussion on love and consider how it instructs our focus.

1 Corinthians 13:4–13 (NLT) 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 13:5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 13:6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 13:7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 13:8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 13:9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 13:10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 13:12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13:13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. [1]

The Greek noun for love that Paul uses is agape, which the Jewish scribes who translated the Hebrew into Greek used “to denote religious love, the love of God to man or man to God, or of man to man under God’s covenant.”[2]  Agape has been “typically defined as the ‘self-sacrificing love.’ This is the love that moves people into action and looks out for the well-being of others, no matter the personal cost. Biblically speaking, agape is the love God showed to His people in sending His Son, Jesus, to die for their sins.”[3]

We find the verb form of agape used by Jesus in the below:

Mark 12:30–31 (NLT) 12:30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 12:31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” [4]

This makes sense, usually, to our souls.  The following, however, is very unnatural:

Matthew 5:44 (NLT) 5:44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! [5]

In every command to love case above, it is the self-sacrificing agape love that Jesus commands we give!  1 Corinthians 13 provides a biblical framework for what active, Christlike love (agape) looks like.  When you overlay Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 with the core message of Hebrews 12:2 (keeping our eyes fixed and focused on the Jesus)," we see that agape love is not a simple emotion or feeling, it is the direct result of keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus.  Said differently, keeping our focused or fixed on Jesus is walking after His Holy Spirit. 

Before we go through the application of love in 1 Corinthians 13 by focusing on Jesus, we need to understand a key truth:  We cannot give something we do not possess.  When God commands us to do something, He has provided the means for us to do it.  The attributes of love we’re about to look at are only “give-able” if we have received such love.  If there’s any attribute that we cover below that causes you to think, “there’s no way” or “I don’t know how I could do that” take that as a sign that there’s love for you to accept from Christ that perhaps you haven’t done so yet. 

Let’s look at some of the verses from 1 Corinthians 13 align with the Hebrews 12:2 message:

1. "Love is patient, love is kind... It is not easily angered" (1 Cor 13:4–5)

  • We discussed last week how easily our physical or emotional states (like fatigue, being "hangry," etc.) and daily stresses overwhelm our thinking, causing us to react out for selfish relief rather than walking by the Spirit.
  • Impatience and sudden anger happen when we drift into "autopilot" or let our immediate circumstances dictate our emotional state.  Staying focused on Christ keeps our hearts anchored in His peace, enabling us to offer patience and kindness even when under pressure or dealing with difficult people because we understand He has lovingly been so patient and kind to us.

2. "It keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Cor 13:5)

  • The message last week emphasized the danger of looking in the "rear-view mirror" by fixating on past hurts, regrets, and wrongs done to us.  Doing so can carve deep mental "ruts" of bitterness and resentment in our minds.
  • Keeping a "record of wrongs" is a type of living in a mental rut.  When we hold onto offenses, our attention bias (frequency illusion) causes us to see people through the lens of their past faults.  True love requires intentionally looking away from the offenses of others and fixing our gaze on the unconditional forgiveness and grace of Jesus.  Said differently, true love knows how to forgive as Jesus commands us to.  We’ll talk about forgiveness in more depth in a future LIFE Post.

3. "Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud... It is not self-seeking" (1 Cor 13:4–5)

  • Many of the distractions that are encumbrances or sin that easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1) do so by pulling our focus inward toward our personal wants, temporal pleasures, status, self-protection, or anxiety about our own future.  When we continually focus on selfish pursuits, it causes us to either become jealous of what others have or become boastful and prideful over what we do have.  Selfishness breeds more selfishness, which chokes off love for others.
  • Pride, envy, and self-seeking are all forms of spiritual distraction where "self" becomes the focal point instead of Christ.  When our gaze is fixed on Jesus, His humility and self-sacrificing love replace the drive to elevate, promote, or advance only ourselves.  A focus on Jesus produces appreciation and gratitude for what He’s done for us.

4. "It does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Cor 13:6–7)

  • We’ve talked about the importance of hope on the path in an earlier post and focusing on Christ as our hope.  Last week we discussed the importance of avoiding fixating on worldly chaos, negative news, health fears, or the frailty of life, which creates a hopeless worldview (like Solomon's "everything is meaningless").
  • Love "rejoices with the truth" and "always hopes" because its reference point is not the temporal turmoil of the world, but the eternal reality of Christ.  By persistently renewing our minds and fixing our eyes on God's character and promises, we will walk by His Spirit.  This provides us with the well of His love, which is able to endure, trust, and persevere through life’s steepest terrain.

5. "Love never fails... Now I know in part; then I shall know fully... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:8, 12–13)

  • We’ve talked about how the distractions of worldly wealth, temporary entertainments, news cycles, transient worries, etc. are temporal and fleeting.  If we constantly fixate on temporary things, not only do we find that they quickly fade away, but we also find that they leave us stuck in a mental rut of anxiety.
  • In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that temporal things pass away, but love rooted in eternal truth remains.  It is eternal.  Keeping our eyes on Jesus ensures that our life is built on what is permanent (faith, hope, and love) rather than being diverted by the temporary noise of the world.

Walking in 1 Corinthians 13 love on a daily basis is impossible if we are constantly distracted by or fixated on the circumstances of today, the weight of the past, or any other fleshly appetites.  It is impossible if we’re not drawing on Jesus’ Holy Spirit as our source of love.  We cannot give what we do not have, and only by abiding in Jesus can we live as He has called us to live.  Abiding in Him enables us to focus and draw upon the great agape love He has for us, providing us the means, source, and desire to live out the attributes of love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13. 

Application/Questions/Journal your thoughts

  • God doesn’t require anything of His followers that He doesn’t enable them to do.  Our quick survey of 1 Corinthians 13 lists application of how our focus determines our ability to love as He calls us to love.  Ask the Holy Spirit for another passage of scripture to review in a similar manner, meaning, spending time with Him to look at the scripture and evaluate how your focus is crucial to obeying and living as that scripture calls for.  Write what He gives you and share with another brother or sister in Christ – you have your own personal LIFE Post to share!   
  • Which of the 1 Corinthians 13 items above are most challenging for you?  Ask the Holy Spirit for revelation about where your focus may be distracted away from Him in that area.  Pray for strength and enablement to retain focus on Him.  Share with another brother or sister in Christ, so that you can be built up, encouraged, and have an accountability partner to help you grow in that area in your trust in God.

Scripture of the week

John 15:4–5 (NASB95) 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [6]

1 John 3:24 (NASB95) 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. [7]

1 John 2:6 (NASB95) 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. [8]

Philippians 4:13 (NASB95) 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. [9]

Weekly prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for Your great Love for me!  Holy Spirit, please help me understand this more, every single day.  Help me keep my focus on You, and as I do, help me love others as You call for in Your Word as I receive Your Love more and more.  Amen!

Freedom Facet

Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is not of feelings or sentiment, but of agape, the self-sacrificing love God showed in sending His Son Jesus to die for us.  This is the same love Jesus commands us to give to God, our neighbors, and even to our enemies.  Because we cannot give what we do not have, every attribute Paul gives depends first on us receiving (and accepting) Christ’s love; wherever an attribute feels impossible, that is an invitation to accept more of His love.  Read alongside Hebrews 12:2, our ability to give each attribute of love is dependent on where our eyes are fixed: patience and kindness flow from resting in His peace rather than reacting to our circumstances; keeping no record of wrongs means looking away from past offenses to His forgiveness; freedom from envy, boasting, and self-seeking comes when Christ, not self, is the focal point; rejoicing in truth and enduring hope hold because their reference point is eternal rather than the turmoil of the world; and love never fails because it is built on what is permanent instead of the passing noise of the world.  Walking in this kind of love daily is impossible in our own strength, it comes only by abiding in Jesus and drawing on His Holy Spirit as its source.

Jesus's Freedom is for those who call Him Lord - those who believe in Him. If you’ve not yet accepted Christ Jesus as Your Lord, and would like to, say the following prayer aloud.

Lord Jesus, I confess and realize that I am a sinner, and without You, I am lost and separated from God.  Thank You for going to the cross and dying for my sins – I ask for Your forgiveness for my sins, and I thank you and receive the forgiveness of my sins Your Word says is now mine!  Holy Spirit, I thank You that You now reside within me.  I lay down my will for Yours and ask for Your daily guidance and direction to make me more and more like You.  Amen!

The Bible tells us that if we confess Jesus as Lord with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God resurrected Jesus from the dead, we are saved for eternity.  If you’ve just accepted Jesus as Lord, know that heaven is celebrating right now (Luke 15:10)!  Rejoice because you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and now have begun the process of sanctification becoming like Him. Keep coming back, as we explore Freedom facets and what our Identity in Christ truly is. Share this joyous news with a brother or sister in Christ and get connected in your local church!  LIFE is yours!

Small Group Invitations - Week of August 2, 2026

Below are invitations to just a couple of Men's Small Groups that are happening this week, both a part of Celebration Church, Georgetown, Texas. If these don't work for you, or if you're not a Celebration Church, TX attendee - regardless of the church you attend - being a part of small group is immensely important! If you're not involved in one, I pray that you find one that works for your schedule and you get plugged in. Being connected in the local church will bless you immeasurably!

Tuesday Morning Men's Fellowship Group: 6am - 7am at Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, Texas. Join us for a time of fellowship where we'll discuss the message from the Pastors on Sunday, the newsletter contents, or whatever is going on in the lives of the brothers meeting.

Friday Morning Celebration Men: We're in between on-campus semesters until September, so we're back to meeting at Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, TX. Join us at 6:30 am for fellowship and discussion about God's Word. We'll conclude at 8am so people can get to work.

[1]  Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[2] Hastings, James, John A. Selbie, John C. Lambert, and Shailer Mathews. 1909. In Dictionary of the Bible, 555. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

[3] Got Questions Ministries. 2002–2013. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[4]  Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[6]  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[7]  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[8]  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[9]  New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.