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1 Corinthians 13 (English-NIV)
If I speak in the tongues [1 ] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, [ 2 ] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Philippians 2:1-12 (English-NIV)
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature [1 ] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature [2 ] of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Genesis 2:7, 18-25 (English-NIV)
Genesis 2
7 the LORD God formed the man [1 ] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam [2 ] no suitable helper was found.
21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs [3 ] and closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [4 ] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman, [5 ]' for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Song of Solomon 2:8-14, 16; 8:6-7 (English-NIV)
Song of Solomon 2
8 Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.
10 My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.
11 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
13The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."
14 My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
16 My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.
Psalms 127 (English-NIV)
Psalm 127 A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to [1 ] those he loves.
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
Psalms 128 (English-NIV)
1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.
5 May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
6 and may you live to see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel.
1 Corinthians 7:1-5, 10-11 (English-NIV)
1 Corinthians 7
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. [ 1 ]
2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
4 The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
We all need love. With all our complexities, we are not easy creatures to satisfy. We can not meet the conditions of a satisfied life by gorging ourselves, lying down on the grass and staring at the clouds.
We have deeper needs and deepest need of all is love.
Too often we think in terms of receiving love instead of giving it. It is gratifying to receive. But there is much for fulfillment in having a heart so filled with love that it is more a joy in giving love than in receiving.
The need for love is born within us, and is as universal as the human race itself. Where ever we walk, on every shore and in every land, the need for love walks by our side. This implanted knowledge is proof that we are akin to Go, for "God is Love".
In is not trite, therefore, to say that love is necessary for life, no more than to say that food sustains life. Without food, we will die. Without love, we die a death worse than physical death. Do not depreciate loves value. Preserve the value of love and live as exhalted creatures on the high summit of tender affections that many will never obtain. Never forget the true value and the true need for love."
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