Encouragement for Your Marriage: Love = Giving

 

What is love?

Love = Giving

It’s the ability and willingness to sacrifice your own wants, interests and desires for the sake of your spouse/children,

EVEN WHEN YOUR SPOUSE/CHILDREN DON'T DESERVE IT.

Blessed are those who have found such a person as their spouse or parent.

But even more blessed still are those who are such a person to their spouse/children.

Few parents can do it for their own children. Even fewer still can do it for their own spouse.

As I searched my heart, I actually haven’t done so for my own children, even though I say I love them. I wanted Baby FECS to go to ballet. It’s my own want and desire, not hers.

Lots to learn in this area 😭😭But God’s forgiving love surrounds our hearts and make it possible for me to improve as a parent and as a spouse.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Because of that we all have hope that we can become better parents, better spouse.

The Amazing Love Story of Lee Kuan Yew and His Wife Kwa Geok Choo

We all entered marriage at the peak of our lives looking the most dashing and gorgeous like Prince Charming and Cinderella (before balding heads and growing beer belly set in for the men and stretch marks etc. set in for the women :-P). 

But would our marriage last as solid and meaningful as when we got married? How could you nurture your marriage? How would your love-story end?

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the former State Minister's marriage is inspiringly and truly out-of-the-ordinary. Theirs is a true fairy-tale marriage. 

To the western world, the former State Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is viewed perhaps at best as Singapore’s benevolent dictator who ruled Singapore with an iron grip. 

But for those of us who are grew up in Singapore, we saw first hand with our own eyes the solid marriage lived out between Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his wife and their frugal life. That left a remarkable mark impression since I was a teenager. 

How many world leaders does one see that are so devoted and faithful to their wife? 

Whatever your political view is, Lee Kuan Yew’s marriage is one I aspire to emulate.

1. Put your marriage at the center of your family and life

One thing I learned is that even as a busy statesman, Lee Kuan Yew and his wife put their marriage at the center of their life and always make time for each other.

“Spending time as a couple was an important aspect in nurturing their relationship. Ever the busy statesman, Mr Lee still set aside time to walk around the Istana gardens, arm in arm with his wife in the evenings.”

“When given some peaches in hospital, she asked the maid to take one home for my lunch. I was at the centre of her life.” - A nurse at the hospital

It is not easy to put our marriage first. We tend to put our children at the center of our lives.

2. Live frugally as best as you could in order to put your marriage first in this material world that is full of temptations

“I’m not interested in changing either my suit or my car or whatever with every change in fashion.” Of course, I don’t approve of people who are sloppy and unnecessarily shabby or disheveled… But I’m not impressed by a $5000 or $10000 Armani suit (either).” – Lee Kuan Yew on material pursuit in life in the book “The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew”

Recently talk around the dinner table kept resolving around money and wealth. That shows we have much work to be done in the area of steering the character development. Boy, parenting is challenging and challenging a soon-to-be-teenager is getting tougher! 

Over dinner, our Little FECS asked why don’t we have a bigger house so that he can have the whole floor to himself just like his cousin? 

Money is not the only concern, time is. And time and stress go together. Time required to move house, time required to shape the house to our liking – it took us 15 years to slowly bring our current home up to the level that suit our daily routine and lifestyle, even though it is a relatively new building! And finally, that spells time away from each other. Already life is super busy enough with two kids, which will only get worse when they become teenagers! 

If mommy and daddy are going to have carefree time for each other, we cannot have a big house. Sorry Little FECS, in life, sometimes you don’t get what you want. But mommy and daddy will do our best to give you what you need😊A mommy and daddy that love each other and have time for each other - that is the best way we can show our love for you. 

Because we love you, we would not indulge you in material things to the degree that is not good for you. It may be painful, and you may not like it, but this is our loving way of molding your heart.

What is your marriage goal this year as a couple? I hope you would read these two articles and be inspired.

https://mustsharenews.com/lee-kuan-yew-kwa-geok-choo-2/

https://www.todayonline.com/rememberinglky/love-his-life-0

The greatest privilege is to grow old and still having your spouse loving you in return until the day you die, and even after you die. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Ms. Kwa Geok Choo's marriage is an amazing love-story that endures even after death. Theirs is a truly fairytale marriage that comes alive!

May God help us to put our marriage above our kids. May God help us to grow old gracefully and lovingly. And may God bless your marriage too. Theirs is a truly fairy-tale marriage comes alive!

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.”- Proverbs 23:4

New Year's Eve 2021

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Grace-in-action

 

When one of you acts in a short-tempered or selfish way, grace in action can be as simple as holding your tongue, giving a hug, or offering a word of encouragement.

According to www.familylife.com, when one of you acts in a short-tempered or selfish way, the other has a choice: Give judgment or show grace.

Which would you rather receive?

Grace in action can be as simple as holding your tongue, giving a hug, or offering a word of encouragement.

Grace approaches life with understanding as its goal rather than proving yourself right and the other person wrong.

Would you like to have a grace-filled marriage?

Its heartbeat trusts in God to work everything for His good purposes. It allows room for successes, failures, and even occasional defeat.

You may ask why should you be the first to change? Or you may feel that you have changed so much, but your spouse hasn't.

Remember that Jesus died an unfair death for sinners, giving us an example to follow. By His sacrifice, He showcased grace for us. In a grace-filled marriage, you care more about your spouse than yourself. 

Lay down your life and die to yourself. Race to the Cross. See who can get there first. Outdo one another at showing honor, grace and humility. Do what's right rather than to be right.

"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

Encouragement for Your Marriage: A soul mate with your spouse

 

 

 

A soul mate with your spouse is something that you grow into.

It's not something that you find them and then you don't have to do any work. Relationships take work and the payoff - soul mate- comes after you've done the work.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Build a marriage now that your kids will thank you later (Part 2)

 

  

Build a marriage now that your kids will thank you later (Part 2)

What would we place in our children’s hands when they get married? 

When our children open their presents after their wedding ceremony, hopefully they will smile with the realization that their parents gave them the best gift they could have ever received 

a vibrance, passionate, forgiving, affectionate, loving and exclusive marriage.

Don’t wait until your children are getting married to do so. That will be too late. Start investing in your marriage now. Lead by example. Don’t take your marriage and spouse for granted.

Don’t let career or other material pursuit get in the way that erode your energy and time to the extent that it malnourishes your marriage. Have the wisdom to know when it’s good enough.

It may be best to gift them what a good warm marriage looks like than a large apartment and huge inheritance/cash that are cold.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Build a marriage now that your kids will thank you later (Part 1)

  

Build a marriage now that your kids will thank you later (Part 1)

The Generational Impact of Our Marriage:

Our marriage can leave behind psychological legacy for our children and grandchildren. Put it in the first place of our life after God. Lead by example as parents in our marriage to our children. Build a marriage now that your kids will thank you later. You are not only creating a solid union as husband and wife, but for generations to come. It's imperative that our marriage not only survives, but thrives.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Don't Expect Prince Charming or Cinderella

Prince Charming or Cinderella isn't real

Hold and treat your spouse in the highest regard as your Prince Charming or Cinderella with your words and actions, as this is the most affirmative recognition of your spouse as the special person in your life and contributing to the creation of oneness which is the ultimate aspired goal and purpose of marriage. At the heart of every human being, we all want to be deeply cherished by our spouse as her Prince Charming or his Cinderella. Cherish your spouse in the same way you wished to be cherished.

But give him/her grace to fail daily and not expect your spouse to be Prince Charming or Cinderella. Our spouses can love us well, but they will never be like the fictional Prince Charming or Cinderella, completing each other perfectly. Prince Charming or Cinderella isn't real, so your spouse will never be them. 

When we expect Prince Charming or Cinderella, the unrealistic expectations we place on our spouse will only end badly for all involved. Expect to be loved well, but by someone who is human and will most likely mess up time and time again. Move forward in love and forgiveness together. 

Don't expect your spouse to complete you. Our spouses will never complete us. That role can only be fulfilled by Jesus Christ. (John 6:35, Psalm 16:11)

"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." - John 6:35

"耶稣对他们说：“我就是生命的粮。到我这里来的人，绝不饥饿；信我的人，永不干渴。"約翰福音 6:35

"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." - Psalm 16:11

"你必将生命的道路指示我，在你面前有满足的喜乐，在你右手中有永远的福乐。"詩篇 16:11 

References:

https://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/marriage/staying-married/wives/15-ways-to-be-a-better-wife/

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Don't be afraid to be the one who loves the most

 

"Don't be afraid to be the one who loves the most." *

* Advice from a woman in Georgia who has been married for over 60 years.

LOVE (Part 1)

 

What is love?

Love is not an emotion. Love is an action that grows out of our attitude and thoughts. Love is a way of thinking and behaving. Emotion is the result of loving actions. 

Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of the other that doesn't demand reciprocation i.e. love is doing something good for your spouse without expecting any returns. Manipulation is doing something good for your spouse expecting something in return.

There is no such thing as love without sacrifice because we will have to step out of our wants, our needs, our plans and our agenda. Love is always costly.

Love does its most beautiful work when the other person doesn't deserve it. We are all married to an imperfect human being in a fallen world. Our spouse and children are going to have bad days. Our spouse and children are inevitably going to say or do things that will hurt us. That's when love rises and lives out all of its beauty.

If we choose to love our spouse only when he/she deserves it, then none of us will ever express true love.

The good news is that love can be learned because it is not an emotion. If we simply wait for warm emotions to be there, we may wait in vain. But if we choose loving actions toward our spouse, we are setting in motion the cycle which stimulates warm emotion.

let us all build a marriage that goes the distance. 

That's true love.

How do I get this love?

We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). In our creepiest most unlovable days, we are still deeply loved by God. What an amazing love! And oh what a privilege it is to experience God so real in our lives. And out of the overflow of God's love overflows the love we give to our spouse and our family.

Here is a podcast that will help you to live out that love:

https://www.familylife.com/podcast/familylife-today/what-is-love/

Here is the post to LOVE (Part 2):

https://www.familyfecs.com/2020/11/love.html

"我们爱，因为神先爱我们。"約翰一書 4:19

Encouragement for Your Marriage: A Princess of Grace is Gentle

     

A Princess of Grace is gentle.

Gentleness is love in action.

Gentleness is love in action - being considerate, meeting the needs of others, allowing time for the other person to talk, and being willing to learn.

Gentleness comes from a state of humility. Someone who lacks gentleness is often prideful and easily angered, and harsh, and feels the need to return a tooth for a tooth.

A gentle person is someone who is calm and rational in a state of anger.

What's the difference between gentleness and kindness?

Gentleness is how one goes about action. Kindness is about what actions one takes and why.

One who is gentle strives in all they do to be harmless, to not hurt the other. To have a soft spirit. 

Everyone is guilty of sinning and making mistakes, and that gentleness and compassion will always be the best response to any situation.

A gentle person learns to reserve judgment.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear." - 1 Peter 3:3-6

Being gentle and quiet in spirit really just means being obedient to God and His Word. If we are seeking the Lord above all else, our spirits will become gentler and quieter, keeping peace with everyone and we will become more and more beautiful in God's sight.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." - Proverbs 18:21

"生 死 在 舌 头 的 权 下 ， 喜 爱 他 的 ， 必 吃 他 所 结 的 果 子。" - 箴 言 18:21

Dear God, in our marriage and family, help me to strive towards being a Princess of Grace, to develop a spirit of gentleness in our daily life, to be conscious of my words, to speak words that bring life and not death.

References:

https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-fruit-spirit-gentleness

https://www.gloveworx.com/blog/gentleness-vs-strength-how-balance-both/

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Marriage is About Finding your Sole Mate Not Your Soul Mate

 

 

"Marriage is About Finding your Sole Mate Not Your Soul Mate" - Gary Thomas

If you have found a soulmate, that's great. Enjoy it while it lasts. 

Marriage is dynamic. What and who you are at 20, is different from what and who you are at 30, and is different from what and who you are at 40 or 70.

For example, failures may change a person for better or for worse. But success may also change a person for better or for worse.

Regardless of whom you married, the fundamental differences between a man and a woman, the differences and habits resulted from the different family backgrounds and childhoods' experiences, etc. will surface in a marriage sooner or later.

What do you do then?

Do you "divorce" away your problems or fight to come closer to each other, to walk with each other?

From the research and surveys of second or third marriages, the grass is NOT greener on the other side. In fact, it only gets worse with second or third marriages.

Do you stay single then?

Every human being's deepest longing is to be known and loved fully and vulnerably, and yet to be fully accepted. Be that for your spouse and you will experience the richest and deepest relationships of all - marriage.

Be willing and be adamant to be a sole mate for your spouse... someone cheerful to walk the life's journey through...

thick and thin, 

in sickness or in health, 

for riches or for poorer.

It takes emotional muscles to do so... and wow, that's true love!

Dear God, in our marriage, help us to walk the extra mile cheerfully with our spouse and be a sole mate for life, living out our marital vow with power and conviction.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Every Good Marriage Begins with a Funeral

 

 Every good marriage begins with a funeral.

For two people to become one, parts of the individuals have to die - die to our preferences, our comforts, and even our desires.

For a new plant to grow, a seed has to fall onto the soil and die. From there a new life begins, grows and thrives.

Marriage is the beginning of a new life, but it can only truly become a deeply satisfying united oneness with death to oneself.

This is the paradox of marriage and life: The irony is death truly brings life, a deeply satisfying life together.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." - John 12:24

"我实实在在地告诉你们：一粒麦子不落在地里死了，仍旧是一粒；若是死了，就结出许多子粒来。" - 约翰福音 12:24

Dear God, help me each day to die to my selfish sinful nature, for our marriage and for our family.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: A Princess of Grace works hard at both merited love and merciful love

 

  Merited love is I love you because...

Merciful love is I love you in spite of...

A Princess of Grace works hard at both merited love and merciful love.

Merited love is why you first got married. It's important in a marriage. Work to give your spouse more reasons to say “I love you because…”

E.g. of merited love:

I love you because of the way you look into my eyes.

I love you because you are so sweet.

I love you because of your beautiful hair.

I love you because of your beautiful smile.

I love you because you are so intelligent.

I love you because you are so sporty.

I love you because you are so kind to my parents.

I love you because you work so hard to support the family.

I love you because of your high integrity and ethics in life.

But human beings are imperfect. For a marriage to thrive and last, merciful love needs to enter and stay.

E.g. of merciful love:

I love you in spite of your white hair.

I love you in spite of your snoring.

I love you in spite of your coming home late for dinner.

I love you in spite of your grumpiness every now and then due to the stress of life.

I love you in spite of you hurting my feelings and stepping on my toes every now and then.

I love you in spite of you leaving clothes on the floor after countless reminders.

I love you in spite of the way you fold the clothes after countless tutorial sessions on how to fold clothes.

I love you in spite of you forgetting to refill the ice-cubes in the freezer yet again.

Merciful love stems from grace. It is unconditional love in daily work clothes.

Merciful love is hard. It is supernatural, but it is true love.

When you give merciful love, God sees it, and you are blessed in many different ways you could not even think of.

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11)

“人有见识就不轻易发怒，

宽恕人的过失便是自己的荣耀。” - 箴言 19:11

Dear God, in our marriage, help us to grow in both merited love and merciful love for each other.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Marriage is a Calling

 

 Marriage is a calling.

Marriage is a calling. This idea may sound weird to many. When we fail to see marriage as a calling, we belittle it. For many, it becomes something you wouldn't sacrifice your career goals for. Marriage comes far down the list of priorities. We take our marriage for granted.

If we see marriage as a calling, it becomes our life’s work. It's not something we do on the side. It’s something we do first, and then build the rest of our life around it.

Dear God, please give us every day the grace we need to live out Christ’s call to perfection in an imperfect world in our marriage.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." - Philippians 2:3-4

Reference:

https://www.foryourmarriage.org/3-modern-obstacles-to-a-healthy-marriage/?fbclid=IwAR32x5qejP3Vh25qN-p-kZ3xoLNEt-_GToSVL7_1LzwzCEHroaFdhg8n18s

Encouragement for Your Marriage: Man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself

 

 Man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.

According to For Your Marriage:

That “sincere gift of self” is a daily call to sacrifice. It’s not feel-good stuff. It hurts. Like sacrifice always does.

Love comes first. Charity above all things. We can be otherwise “perfect” – earning a decent living, setting up a home, having children and educating them well – but if we fail to recognize the importance of loving our spouse with self-giving love, we are failing at the most important thing. None of that other stuff matters.

We aren’t all perfect at self-sacrifice, of course, and in a healthy marriage there is plenty of room for mistakes, mercy, and forgiveness. The fundamentally important call to hear, however, is the call to love one another and to fully find yourself through a “sincere gift of self” to your spouse. That kind of love isn’t just “nice if you can find it”; it’s what marriage is."

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

哥林多前书 13:13 - 现在常存的有信、望、爱这三样，其中最大的是爱。

I will leave you with this touching article and video:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401655/She-gave-75-years-life-96-year-old-man-enters-heartbreaking-song-wrote-late-wife-contest-producers-record-iTunes.html?fbclid=IwAR3KfKDo2MDLlwfqHpjwDRKinnIINfIngH5QtIG_iF8PbO6bj_yj-XJEzHk

https://vimeo.com/70426141

Reference:

https://www.foryourmarriage.org/3-modern-obstacles-to-a-healthy-marriage/?fbclid=IwAR32x5qejP3Vh25qN-p-kZ3xoLNEt-_GToSVL7_1LzwzCEHroaFdhg8n18s

Encouragement for Your Marriage: A 50/50 marriage is a performance-based marriage, A 100/100 is a grace-based marriage.

 

 A 50/50 marriage is a performance-based marriage,

A 100/100 is a grace-based marriage.

A 50/50 marriage is a performance-based marriage. 

Love is withheld and resentment builds up, when a spouse falls short of 50/50 especially with regards to, for example, housework 😂

A 100/100 marriage is a grace-based marriage.

Love is unconditional even when our spouse falls short of our expectations.

Dear God, in our marriage, please help us to spur each other to grow towards a 100/100 marriage.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: How would I like to be married to me?

 

    How would I like to be married to me?

Every once in a while, ask yourself: "How would I like to be married to me?

How would I rate myself as a marriage partner?

Am I easy to live with?

How do I enrich the relationship?

What are the positive qualities I bring to our marriage?

If we are humble enough to reflect and ask ourselves these simple questions once a week or once a month, it can do more to help us ensure the success of our marriages than just about anything else.

Love is humble. 

Love is not self-seeking. 

This is a way to live it out, starting with calibrating and recalibrating our heart attitude.

Dear God, help me daily to seek to build my spouse up.

Encouragement for Your Marriage: A Princess of Grace Pursues Peace

 

 A Princess of Grace seeks and pursues peace.

Two people going their own selfish ways cannot experience the oneness of marriage.

A Princess of Grace makes an intentional effort to seek and pursue peace.

How do we pursue peace?

1. Live for things that really matter - peace at home.

2. Talk gently. Don't yell or use words that tear each other down.

3. Take the initiative to actively go after reconciliation, rather than waiting for the other person to take the first step.

4. Maintain as much physical contact as possible with your spouse during conflict resolution - hold hands as you talk.

5. Strive to be the one who resolves conflicts in your marriage, not the one who starts them.

6. Forgive your spouse and don't hold grudges. Don't dredge up misdeeds from the past.

Part of loving your spouse involves forgiving him/her daily. 

When you eagerly seek to forgive, you are pursuing peace, you are pursuing oneness, not isolation.

Don’t keep records of wrongs and don’t let the negatives build up. This brings peace to you and your home.

"Blessed are the peacemakers." - Matthew 5:9

"Seek peace and pursue it." - 1 Peter 3:11

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家和万事兴

"使人和平的人有福了" - 马太福音 5:9

"寻找并追求和睦。" - 彼得前书 3:11

LOVE (Part 2)

"Darling, I love you."

L-O-V-E, the four-letter word is so easy to spell, so simple, yet so profound.

It's so easy to say you love someone. It's cheap. It doesn't cost a cent to say that.

But if you truly love someone, your love will be put to the test. And if you come through the test, then you truly have true love.

What exactly is love?

• Love is patient. 
• Love is kind. 
• Love is respectful.
• Love is gracious.
• Love is tender.
• Love is looking to the interest of the other.
• Love is long-suffering.
• Love is supportive.
• Love is humble.
• Love is gentle.
• Love is peace.
• Love is big-hearted.
• Love is selfless.
• Love is honesty.
• Love is tolerant. 
• Love is trust.
• Love is staying power.
• Love is commitment.
• Love bears all things. 
• Love overlooks an offense.
• Love is thoughtful.
• Love is seeing the good of someone.
• Love believes the best of the other.
• Love draws out the best of the other.
• Love keeps every confidence.
• Love is faithfulness.
• Love is safety and security.
• Love is loyalty.
• Love is self-control.
• Love is unconditional acceptance.
• Love thinks the best of the other.
• Love is hope.
• Love endures.
• Love perseveres.
• Love doesn't give up.
• Love keeps going to the end.

And what is not love?

• Rudeness is not love.
• Irritability is not love.
• Anger is not love.
• Harshness is not love.
• Sarcasm is not love.
• Self-interest is not love.
• Quick-temper is not love.
• Seeking benefit is not love.
• Inflated with pride is not love.
• Insisting on your way is not love.
• Haughtiness is not love.
• Swelled head is not love.
• Selfishness is not love.
• Self-seeking is not love.
• Resentment is not love.
• Quick to take offense is not love.
• Giving up is not love.
• Vindictive is not love.
• Lust is not love.
• Envy is not love.
• Jealousy is not love.
• Covetousness is not love.
• Flaunting oneself is not love.
• Holding grudges is not love.
• Keeping score is not love.
• Keeping records of wrong is not love.

Love does not come by itself. Love takes training to grow strong.

As you train your mental endurance by going to school, as you train your physical endurance by jogging, make sure that you train your endurance to finish well in love.

Love comes forth as gold through good times and through bad times.

Love comes forth as gold in sickness and in health.

Love comes forth as gold for better and for worse.

Love comes forth as gold for riches and for poorer.

That's true love.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

4. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not boast and is not puffed up,

5. It is not rude. It is not selfish. It is not provoked to anger. It keeps no records of wrong.

6. It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices in the truth.

7. It bears all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It endures all things.

8. Love never fails.

Dear God, let me live out true love in my life.

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没有国, 哪有家?

没有家, 哪有国?

要有国, 才有家。

要有家, 才有国。

没有爱，哪有家？

没有家，哪有爱？

要有一个强盛的家，才有一个强盛的国。

要有一个强盛的国，才有一个强盛的家。

爱、家、国是分不开的。

哥林多前书 13:4-8

4 爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈。爱是不嫉妒，不自夸，不张狂； 5 不作失礼的事，不求自己的益处，不轻易动怒，不计较人的过犯； 6 不喜欢不义，只喜欢真理。 7 爱是凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐。8 爱是永存不息的。先知的讲道终必过去，方言终必停止，知识终必消失。

天父啊，请您让我在我的生命里活出真爱。