Insights are short, biblical truths to equip you to lead from your strengths.
In English, just one word expresses love. But the Bible has at least four different words for “love.” In 1 Corinthians 13, the famous “love chapter,” Paul uses one of them: agape.
Agape is the love of God for man – which in turn, draws love out of man for God and for others.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul listed different qualities that describe agape love. As you read Paul’s list it is easy to say, “Yes! I can see how that quality shows God’s love – the kind of agape love I want to live out in my life.”
But what you may not recognize are the ways in which God uses YOU to reflect His love … through your strengths.
Here’s an Insight
Your strengths reflect God’s love.
God has wired you with strengths. Your strengths are the way you carry out tasks – the manner in which you “do” things.
Your strengths are one way God uses to express love.
Take, for instance, 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient.” To those of you who are Predictables, read that passage and do a fist pump. Your unhurried, methodical approach is a reflection of God’s patient nature.
Meanwhile, the Optimistics among us can camp out on 1 Corinthians 13:7: “(Love) always trusts” (NIV). You tend to trust people and information easily. In the same way, God is quick to accept us as we are. You offer this quality of love to those around you.
Even descriptors in the negative reveal strengths God uses to show His love, like “Love does not insist on its own way” (1 Corinthians 13:5, NIV). If you’re a Reflective, your accommodating nature allows people around you to see this side of God’s love.
One way God expresses His love is through your strengths.
Which strengths has He given you to use to show His love to others?
More about Love and Strengths
Insight: Know the Truth About Love
Marriage Insights Profile Helps You Love Your Spouse with Your Strengths
Guest Post: The Scandal of One Way Love