What else is there?

All you need is love. –The Beatles

(This week, Easter Week, I am turning this column over to the apostle Paul for an important reminder. We know it better as 1 Corinthians 13, from Eugene Peterson's The Message.)
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy
but don’t love,
I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps,
but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do,
I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always, “Me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.


Monday “They” say the more love you give, the more you receive. Who in your life could use a little more love? Share a hug, a kind word or a special moment today. James 2:8
Tuesday “They” have also found that children from less-than-ideal home situations grow and thrive when shown a little extra attention. (Go figure.) What can you do for a child today? 1 John 3:1
Wednesday When was the last time you baked cookies or muffins to share with a friend or neighbor? How about today—and offer some to a neighbor you don’t know? Proverbs 21:13
Thursday Pray today for your community. Ask God where you might become more involved in the future of your hometown. 2 John :6
Friday Expand your prayers today for the nation, that God’s love might become more apparent in our everyday conversations and lives. Psalm 33:4-5
Saturday As you pray for yourself today, look for places where you sometimes feel unlovable. Rest in the knowledge that God loves even those spaces. Song of Songs 8:6-7
Sunday Turn this page over and read Paul’s words again, slowly. Look for the verses that speak most deeply to your heart. Consider taping them on your mirror. Micah 6:8


To those who have given up on love: I say, “Trust life a little bit.” –Maya Angelou

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