Love Letters: Say What?

Love Letters:  Say What?
#5 in the Series:  Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father 

Often times, especially when I am reading an extremely familiar passage of scripture, it is easy to just keep reading.  One way to slow down and really digest it is to pick out the main words and look up the definition, synonyms, and/or antonyms in the dictionary.

Here is my journal entry
for 1 Corinthians 13:4… just the first phrase “love is kind…”

Kind

Definition: having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature

Synonyms: good-natured, tenderhearted, warm-hearted, good-hearted, feeling, warm, mellow, considerate, thoughtful, tender, soft-hearted, kind-hearted, caring, affectionate, gentle, mild, helpful, obliging, unselfish, selfless, altruistic, good, compassionate, sympathetic, understanding, big-hearted, pleasant, well-meaning, well-intentioned, tolerant, gracious, lenient, openhanded, giving, cooperative, accommodating, attentive, benevolent, friendly, neighborly, courteous, agreeable, nice, amiable, hospitable, generous, merciful, patient, lavish, bountiful

Antonyms: inconsiderate, mean, cruel

“Wow, that is a long list of synonyms. Lots of ways to say “kind.“ And again there seems to be “be“ words and “do“ words and some are both and notice how many include the word “heart”… six out of 50!  Kindness is from the heart not just the head/mind.  And many of the “be” words could eventually come out as actions or at least as character.  The antonyms are few, but powerful.”

You can see here that after I wrote the list and contemplated the many aspects of “kind” it provoked other thoughts.  (We will be talking much more about “be” and “do” as we go along.)   I was studying Chapter 13 in 1 Corinthians as an outgrowth of an question I had about John 15:9-17, part of which says “love your neighbor as yourself.”  I started wondering what it meant to love yourself?  Knowing that 1 Corinthians 13 is the Bible definition of love I thought I would look there.

The end of my journal entry reads like this:

“So, do I treat myself kindly?

Do I love my neighbor as myself and myself as my neighbor?

God loves me this way!”

How about you?  Are you as kind to yourself as you are to others?

Now it’s your turn.  Next time you are reading your Bible look up the definition and synonyms and antonyms for one or some of the main words.  (It is easy…just type the word into your search engine.  Usually the first thing that comes up is dictionary.com.)  It may surprise you or not, but it will definitely give you greater depth of meaning.  Then write your own amplified version of the verse.  Have fun!  I would love it if you would share it in the comments...and if your are enjoying these articles send them on to a friend or post them on your social media.  Thanks!

Til next time…free your mustang heart.