To My Friend J
11/30/2001 06:32 p.m.
THIS IS A PARAPHRASE OF THE SCRIPTURES� I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU SAW THE HIGHLIGHTS.

*** Rbi8 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 ***
4 Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. 6 It�rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. �13 Now, however, there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

*** it-2 273 Love ***
LOVE
A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a friend, for a parent or child, and so forth; warm fondness or liking for another; also, the benevolent affection of God for his creatures or the reverent affection due from them to God; also, the kindly affection properly expressed by God�s creatures toward one another; that strong or passionate affection for a person of the opposite sex that constitutes the emotional incentive to conjugal union. One of the synonyms for love is �devotion.�
Aside from those meanings, the Scriptures speak also of love guided by principle, as love of righteousness or even love for one�s enemies, for whom a person may not have affection. This facet or expression of love is an unselfish devotion to righteousness and a sincere concern for the lasting welfare of others, along with an active expression of this for their good

*** it-2 262 Long-suffering ***
LONG-SUFFERING
The patient endurance of wrong or provocation, combined with a refusal to give up hope for improvement in the disturbed relationship. Long-suffering therefore has a purpose, looking particularly to the welfare of the one causing the disagreeable situation. It does not mean the condoning of wrong, however. When the purpose for long-suffering is accomplished, or when there is no point in further putting up with the situation, long-suffering ends. It ends either with good to those giving provocation or with action against the wrongdoers. In any case the one exercising long-suffering is not harmed in spirit.
The literal meaning of the Hebrew expression translated �slow to anger� (�long-suffering� in some translations) is �length of nostrils [where anger flares up].� (Ex 34:6; Nu 14:18; see ANGER.) The Greek word ma�kro�thy�mi'a (long-suffering) literally means �longness of spirit.� (Ro 2:4, Int) Both the Hebrew and Greek expressions denote patience, forbearance, slowness to anger. The English word �suffering� in the word �long-suffering� has the sense of �putting up with, permitting, tolerating, holding up, or delaying.� �Long-suffering� means more than merely enduring pain or trouble. It does not mean merely �suffering long� but involves deliberate restraint.


See what I mean when I said this was going to be L-O-N-G?
I just wanted you to see how under-rated love truly is in the real world. We as persons do not really grasp the concept of love on all levels. First when I shared with you the point from the books of Matthew & Luke� I wanted you to understand that you are valuable; but without knowing you and why you couldn�t smile�that�s all I could do to hopefully bring some measure of comfort. You do realize that without having come into contact with you� I myself would not have been able to express this truth that I hold very dear to me; and for your honesty, again, I thank you.

*** Rbi8 Matthew 10:29-31 ***
29 Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without YOUR Father�s [knowledge]. 30 But the very hairs of YOUR head are all numbered. 31 Therefore have no fear: YOU are worth more than many sparrows.

*** Rbi8 Luke 12:6-7 ***
6 Five sparrows sell for two coins of small value, do they not? Yet not one of them goes forgotten before God. 7 But even the hairs of YOUR heads are all numbered. Have no fear; YOU are worth more than many sparrows.

I�ve read your statement you sent me �love is easy when things are bad, and hard when things are going well�� and I am wondering if anyone took credit for this quote only because to me ~ its mean (my opinion). Please reference the scripture quoted 1 Cor. 13 again. Love endures all things. Love is not easy only because we are human/imperfect. Through the good and the bad�love endures. Love dominates our existence if we seek to see beauty, if we seek to see the good, if we seek truth. Continue to seek the beauty, the good, and the truth in your relationships.

Kindness, love, patience, and such qualities are seen as weaknesses in our society today; because they require that a person be humble. Love is a quality that makes a person want to do good for another person or persons. Love is a quality that makes a person think of someone else�s interests before their own. Because of the world we live in today� people choose to forget to apply the Golden Rule �Do Unto Others as We Would have Them Do Unto Ourselves��or something like that (I just took some cold medicine). That requires that we love one another in good times and bad times. That requires that I make sure that despite whatever happens�I make sure you know I�m always your friend, that you know I care, AND that you smile.

Ok, so you were blunt, and now its my turn to be blunt; but it is with the utmost of respect and concern that I say this because my focus is first and foremost my commitment to serving God (please reference Constancy). Human thinking is just that� human thinking. To understand wisdom, to know love and what it truly is, is to learn that even before we existed (as we know existence to be) we were loved, we are valued, and we have a purpose.

*** Rbi8 Psalm 139:14-16 ***
14 I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful,
As my soul is very well aware.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
When I was made in secret,
When I was woven in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw even the embryo of me,
And in your book all its parts were down in writing,
As regards the days when they were formed
And there was not yet one among them.

*** Rbi8 1 John 4:8-11 ***
8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was made manifest in our case, because God sent forth his only-begotten Son into the world that we might gain life through him. 10 The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins.
11 Beloved ones, if this is how God loved us, then we are ourselves under obligation to love one another.

Your friend,
~N

I am currently Upbeat
I am listening to construction work... Ahhh!