LOGOS TRADING POST - LOVE EXPRESSION COINS

Love’s Value in God’s Eyes

Paul the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” This is a simple and profound list, giving believers insight into what it means to show love to one another. After all, “God is love,” according to John’s writings throughout his first epistle, John 1, so it stands to reason that God and Christian faith would have a thing or two to teach us about love and how it is expressed!

It is not only good that we love, but Jesus compels us to love. After all, 1 John 4:19 assures us, “We love because he first loved us.” It’s true! God’s love is so endless and so unfathomable, but we can begin to grasp it when we look to what He has done for us, especially in the act of sacrifice on the cross. The Father’s love is expressed in the classic John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” In His love, He desired so much to save us and to give us the chance to share in life everlasting with Him, He was willing to let go of His son for our sake. His Son, Jesus, however also expressed a love all His own, being willing to go through with it. After all, He died for us and came back to be with us, and He did say in John 15:12-13, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Therefore, we are not only compelled to love by God, but we are commanded to! Worry not, however, because there is no greater or more enduring joy in this world than expressing genuine love. After all, Paul continues his statement in 1 Corinthians, now verses 8-13, writing, “Love never ends. As for the prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then fact to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The most meaningful act in all the world is love, and love will never fade away, just as God will never fade away.

How to Love as God’s Own

Let us press on in love, then, not only pleasing the God who is love by emulating Him, but also doing something that is really and truly meaningful. We hope that by having these especially love focused challenge coins for sale, we can provide one way that you can show love. However, if we wish to grow in showing love, whether through giving the gift of a Christian challenge coin or through any other expression for that matter, it would do us good to consider and meditate upon the list mentioned at the beginning of this article in 1 Corinthians 4:4-6. Let’s walk through them to aid in an understanding of love as God sees it.

Firstly, love is patient. Patience is simple on paper and hard in practice, but with a steady dedication to practicing and a healthy mindfulness of when our own impatience creeps in, patience goes a long way when showing someone that you love them. Being short tempered toward those we love drives us further from them, but patience for them and a heart steeped in grace and forgiveness can show them that we truly love them. Kindness is related, for kindness becomes a great virtue when we are kind to those who test our patience. Demonstrating kindness to someone whatever your feelings in the moment is a wonderful thing.

Like patience and kindness, it can be said that envy and boasting are related, albeit different sides of one issue. Love operates neither in envy or boasting. Envy is an enemy of love because it wishes to steal for oneself; a great counter to envy is admiration for one another, and the ability to celebrate when good things happen to one another. However, if we are admired, we mustn’t boast either. The boaster devalues others and elevates himself, but one who loves is humble and willing to serve those they love. Love is not arrogant or rude either, and again, humility and a servant’s heart work against these selfish ways. Of course, this means that love does not insist on its own way.

Back to the aspect of patience, love is not irritable or resentful. When we love, we should continually maintain an attitude of gentleness and kindness, having grace for the small things and not keeping an account of them when they happen. Instead, we can continually have grace and mercy, as God has extended them to us.

Finally, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. The most loving thing of all that we can do is point those we love to God, who is love in Himself. We often have the opportunity to support the Christian journeys of those that we love, so we ought to remember that true love is interested in the truth.

Love Expression Coins

Let us remember these truths of scripture when we express love to others. We hope that giving the gift of our Christian challenge coins can serve as just one of the many ways that you show love to those you care most about!