What I Do Displays What I Love - Grit & Grace
Lists. It doesn’t matter if I’m writing things on them or crossing things off of them, I just love them. I’ve even caught myself on more than one occasion (more like hundreds of occasions) writing something on my list I’ve already done but had forgotten to include in the original list, just so I can feel the satisfaction of crossing the darn thing off the list. Some might call that obsessive. I call it love. What I do displays what I love.
“Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 CSB
I discovered another list as I was reading through and studying this verse. It’s a list of parallel translations and all the things love doesn’t rejoice or delight in depending on the translation.
- evil
- wrongdoing
- iniquity
- unrighteousness
- injustice
It’s all Greek to me.
I love lists, but I don’t really have a bucket list. If I did, learning Greek would be on it. My dream is to read Scripture in one of the original languages it was written in. Until I can immerse myself more fully into that study, doing deep dives on individual words and phrases as I come across them will have to do.
The Greek word adikia literally means “not justice.”
Injustice. There’s a lot of talk about justice these days, which is probably why that particular translation of this portion of the verse jumps out at me. Love doesn’t rejoice at injustice.
The opposite of rejoicing is grieving and mourning. So “to not rejoice at injustice” quite literally means that I should grieve and mourn when injustice is on display…whether I’m the one currently experiencing it or not.
Stay with me as I take it just a step further. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to go from “not rejoicing” to “not ignoring.” If love doesn’t rejoice at injustice, and not rejoicing is grieving and mourning, then disregarding it, pretending it doesn’t exist, and explaining it away is the opposite of what love should do when confronted with injustice.
But love must be trained. We need to learn to train it for the fight.
Love must be trained to fight for what is right.
Love rejoices with the truth.
Except for differences in preposition used, the second half of verse 6 ends the same way in that list of parallel translations I discovered. Love rejoices with (or in) the truth.
When what is right and true win, we should experience great joy. In fact, truth should be what brings out the greatest joy and delight. Why?
Because good is the opposite of evil, and truth is the ultimate good.
The word gospel literally means “good news.” The good news of Jesus provides mercy and justice for all. Love that rejoices with the truth stands on the side of the gospel and this good news, enabling and empowering me to display that same mercy and justice I’ve experienced with every one another I encounter…even with the ones I disagree with.
To love as I have been loved. All he asks for is my life. What he has done on my behalf makes his love clear, and so in the same way…
What I do displays what I love.
Becky is a Miami native, and has lived here all of her life. Married to her husband for over 20 years, they lead a very active lifestyle along with their three teenagers and Riley, their rescue dog. Becky loves to teach, and has had the awesome privilege of home educating her children for over twelve years. When not teaching academics, Becky loves to equip, encourage, and empower women through the teaching of her group fitness classes. Becky and her husband lead various ministries, and their family loves to serve the community through the countless opportunities provided over the past twenty years+ in their local church. She enjoys filling her "free" time with reading, writing, watching movies, and just spending time with the family. Becky has a passion for living her life with grit and grace, and encouraging others to do the same.
