By: Katie Bishop
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8a)

Our family loves ketchup. It is our condiment of choice. As a result I frequently spend my grocery store hours walking up and down the condiment aisle. Last week, while I was trying to figure out which ketchup was really on sale and what size could really fit in my refrigerator, I overheard the conversation of a mother and her son. Apparently he was driving her crazy.

“David! You are on my last nerve.” The mother said to the boy. “What’s a nerve?” he asked in response – as only a four year old could. She sighed and let go of his hand, just for a minute, before a crash was heard all over the store. Then came the sigh of desperation from the mother. I looked – he had broken one of those really big pickle jars. It must have held a hundred pickles. The pickles and juice were all over the floor, all over the boy, and all over the mother. As the boy laughed, the mother began to shake her head. And as she did, she sighed and said, “It’s a good thing I love you.”

Later that night, after finishing a round of late night emails, doing loads of family laundry and cleaning the bathroom, I came to bed. As I pulled out my book and began to read, my husband casually said, “Good night, Kate. Love you.” And I began to think about the grocery store mother’s words.

It is a good thing that I love my husband. Because if it didn’t, I think the dishes would be left undone and the laundry would pile up. I would not bother buying Christmas gifts for his aunt and uncle. I am not sure that I would ever go on another hike because I don’t like mosquitoes or getting sweaty. I am confident that I would lose my cool far more then I do if that was the case.

Just as his eyes were beginning to shut, I burst out, “Well you are one lucky man to have me love you!” He sat up in bed, as a slight smile began to appear across his face. “I guess I am. And you are pretty lucky too – or you would have to kill your own spiders.”

It’s a good thing I love you. For love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And love never fails. Love really has nothing to do with spiders or laundry, with Christmas gifts, pickle jars or getting on someone’s last nerve. Love has everything to do with caring for people the way that God has made them, welcoming them just as they are and helping them as they grow into the person God has called them to become.

It is a good thing I love you. I can only imagine how many times our God thinks this thought as we live our everyday lives. I can only imagine how many times our God thinks this thought as we turn away or make our own way. For our God’s love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast, it is not proud. It does not keep record of wrongs. It does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protect, always trust, always hopes, always preserves. For our God’s love never fails. It’s a good thing God loves you.

May we be reminded of God love for us and may we try to share that love with the people God has placed in our lives.

See more devotions from Katie and our other Young Adult writers, or find our how you can become a writer yourself at our By Young Adults for Young Adults devotion page.