Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
I often practice Lectio Divina as part of my daily meditation. Lectio Divina is very slowly reciting Scripture in short phrases with silences between them. During the silences one reflects on the words. Sometimes a word will “speak,” or will “touch” something inside.
I’ve gone over 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 many times and in many ways over the last few months. Sometimes I will read it as, “Christ in me is patient, Christ in me is kind. Christ in me does not envy….” (I got this idea from Frank Viola.)
Recently I read it as, “We are patient, we are kind. We do not envy….” As I was silently reciting this I suddenly felt united with God. I’ve long believed that this passage was describing God. Most Christians see it as descriptive of how we ought to love. God wants us to be like him. When we manifest love like this we are like God. I then realized that “we” is the whole body of Christ, and finally that “we” is all humanity.
