The Nature of Love

After looking at the fruit of the Spirit, I would like to look at the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13, or at least the ones I have not already dealt with under the fruit of the Spirit. Now 1 Corinthians 13 is in a context. It is based on a discussion of the spiritual gifts and is intended to make the point that simply having a particular spiritual gift does not make you better or more spiritual than other believers; the real issue is whether it is exercised in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3; 12:14-25; Romans 12:3-5). This is important because love is held up as the basis of all Christian behavior (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:13,14). But it is easy to confuse impressive gifts or significant outward accomplishments with what is really important in the sight of God, the true character of the heart. This is particularly true as the outward things are so much easier to measure. But I would like to follow Paul in looking at love, which is the moral quality God really values.