When we consider the different elements of this lofty love, it becomes clear why agape love is real love – the love we all want and need.
1. Real love suffers long: It is patient. The Greek word meant “long tempered”. In our day of domestic violence, sexual unfaithfulness and broken relationship this kind of love is vital.
2. Real love is kind. Paul said that real love is kind he was describing a love that is more than ornamental. In other words love acts in away that is kind, gracious, useful, and beneficial.
3. Real love does not envy. It dos not resent the blessings, successes, or well being of other.
4. Love does not parade itself. It does not brag about its accomplishment. It is not given to self-display, not even to careful worded statements of subtle self-promotion.
5. Love is not boastful. It reminds me of William Carey’s life. At a dinner party one evening another guest, seeking to call attention to Carey’s humble beginnings, said, “ Mr. Carey, I understand that you once worked as a shoemaker” Carey Replied, “ Oh no, your lordship, I was not a shoemaker, only a shoe repairman”
6. Real love does not behave rudely. It never pressures another person to do something that is wrong. It seeks the best for the one loved – not the personal gain, pleasure, or control that manipulation is often designed to achieve.
7. Real love does not seek its own. It speaks of the person whose focus is outward, not inward. It describes the heart that is not so consumed with its own interests that it cannot show concern for the needs and interest of others.
8. Love endures all things. It does not give up. It does not quit. It does not walk away. It perseveres to the point where it endures all things.
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