Dillon Community Church

Day 1: Love Is More Than a Feeling

Devotional

Most of us grew up thinking love is something that happens to us. We fall into it. We feel it. And when the feeling fades, we wonder if the love was ever real. But Paul had something far more grounded in mind when he wrote to the church in Corinth. These were not people exchanging vows at a wedding. They were people suing each other, excluding one another, and using their gifts to climb social ladders. Into that mess, Paul said: here is what love actually looks like. The Greek word he used was agape. It is not a warm emotion. It is a covenant commitment. It is the kind of love that shows up on hard days, toward difficult people, in inconvenient moments. Paul describes it using action words, verbs, because love is something you do. This is actually good news. If love were only a feeling, you would be at the mercy of your emotions every single day. But because love is a choice, you have the power to love even when it is hard. You are not waiting for the feeling to arrive. You are deciding to act. God modeled this perfectly. He did not love us because we were lovable. He loved us because that is who He is, and He chose to act on it. You can do the same today. Not perfectly, but purposefully.

Bible Verse

"And now I will show you the most excellent way." - 1 Corinthians 12:31

Reflection Question

If love is a daily choice rather than a feeling, what would it look like for you to choose love today toward someone who has made it difficult?

Quote

"Love is something you do, not primarily a feeling you have."

Prayer

Lord, thank You for loving me not because of how I feel but because of who You are. Help me to make the same choice today toward the people around me. Amen.

Day 2: Love Takes Its Time

Devotional

We live in a world that rewards speed. Fast replies, quick fixes, efficient outcomes. Patience feels like a liability. But Paul lists patience first when describing love, and that is not an accident. Think about Jesus on His way to heal a dying girl. The situation was urgent. Every second counted. And yet, when a woman who had been suffering for twelve years reached out and touched the edge of His robe, He stopped. He did not rush past her. He did not treat her interruption as an inconvenience. He created time for her. That is what patient love looks like. It is not passive. It is not simply gritting your teeth and waiting. It is actively choosing to give someone the time they need, even when your schedule says otherwise. Patience also means resisting the urge to write people off. When someone keeps struggling with the same thing, when progress is slow, when the conversation gets hard, love does not tap its foot and sigh. It stays present. You have likely been on the receiving end of someone's patience at some point. A parent who did not give up on you. A friend who kept showing up. A mentor who believed in you longer than you believed in yourself. That patience changed you. You have the same gift to offer someone today.

Bible Verse

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." - 1 Corinthians 13:4

Reflection Question

Is there someone in your life right now who needs you to slow down and give them more time and presence than feels convenient?

Quote

"Love is patient. It gives people the time that they need or the time that they want. It has the discernment to know what is needed in any given moment and it doesn't seek to rush through it just because it might be inconvenient."

Prayer

Father, grow patience in me. Where I am tempted to rush or give up on someone, remind me of how patiently You have waited for me. Amen.

Day 3: Put Down the Record Book

Devotional

Most of us do not think of ourselves as people who hold grudges. But if you are honest, you probably have a few tabs open. You know what tabs look like. A comment someone made two years ago that still stings. A betrayal you said you forgave but keep revisiting. A pattern of behavior you have catalogued so carefully that you can recite it on demand. We keep these tabs open, and every so often we go back and refresh them. Paul says love keeps no record of wrongs. That word in the original language is an accounting term. It means love does not log the debt. It does not build a case file. Here is what makes this personal. God does not keep a record of wrongs against you. Second Corinthians 5:19 tells us that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them. He had every reason to keep the record. He chose not to. That is not weakness. That is extraordinary strength. And it is the same strength He invites you to walk in. Closing a tab does not mean pretending the hurt never happened. It means choosing not to let that hurt define the relationship going forward. It means deciding that the person in front of you is more than the worst thing they have done. One closed tab can change everything.

Bible Verse

"that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:19

Reflection Question

What tab have you been keeping open on someone, and what would it take for you to close it today?

Quote

"So many of us keep a record of wrongs like tabs on our computer. We have tabs open on people. And instead of closing the tab and moving on and quickly working to forgive. We keep the tab open and we occasionally revisit it and we ruminate on it and we nurse that bitterness."

Prayer

God, thank You for not counting my sins against me. Give me the courage and grace to extend that same mercy to someone who has hurt me. Amen.

Day 4: See the Person, Not Just the Problem

Devotional

It is easy to reduce people to their worst moments. A friend who let you down becomes the person who let you down. A family member who keeps struggling becomes their struggle. Over time, we stop seeing the person and start seeing only the pattern. But love refuses to do that. Paul writes that love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. That word always is relentless. Love does not take breaks from believing in people. It does not run out of hope when someone fails again. This is rooted in something deeper than optimism. Every person you encounter is an image bearer. They were made in the image of God, which means there is dignity and potential in them that no failure can fully erase. When you look at someone through the lens of love, you are not ignoring their struggles. You are choosing to see what God sees. God looks at you the same way. Regardless of how many times you have failed, regardless of the wrong choices and the repeated mistakes, He is constantly hoping for you. He sees the image He placed in you, and He is not done with you yet. That perspective is a gift. And it is one you can pass on. Choose today to see one person in your life not for the habit or the hurt, but for the potential God placed in them.

Bible Verse

"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." - 1 Corinthians 13:7

Reflection Question

Who in your life have you been defining primarily by their failures, and how might seeing them as an image bearer change how you treat them?

Quote

"You are an image bearer. You were made in the image of God. And so rather, seeing you for just a habit, or rather than seeing you for just the wrong that you have committed, I'm going to see the potential within you."

Prayer

Lord, help me to see the people around me the way You see them. Give me eyes for their potential, not just their problems. Amen.

Day 5: Love Never Runs Out

Devotional

Faith will one day become sight. Hope will one day be fully realized. But love? Love is the one thing that does not end. It is not a stepping stone to something greater. It is the foundation everything else is built on. Paul closes his description of love by saying it never fails. Not that it never gets tired or tested, but that it never ceases to be. True love is generative. The more it gives, the more it has to give. This is not a human invention. It is a reflection of God Himself. Love is what moved God to speak creation into existence. Love is what sent Jesus to the cross. Love is what keeps Him interceding for you right now. He is not running low. He is not growing weary of you. His love is not diminishing with each mistake you make. And here is the invitation. Because you are made in His image, you carry the capacity for that same kind of love. Not perfectly, but genuinely. Every patient moment, every closed tab, every time you choose to see someone's potential instead of their failure, you are participating in something eternal. This week, take one step. One conversation, one prayer, one act of kindness toward someone love has been hard with. You do not have to feel ready. You just have to choose. Love is not a feeling you wait for. It is a choice you make, again and again, and it never runs out.

Bible Verse

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

Reflection Question

Knowing that God's love for you never runs out, how does that change the way you approach loving someone who has been difficult to love?

Quote

"True love as it's defined by Jesus, as it's defined in Scripture, it's generative. It's life giving. No matter how much of itself it gives, it never ceases to not be."

Prayer

Father, thank You that Your love for me never fails. Fill me with that same love so I can pour it out on others, even when it is hard. Amen.

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*Devotions written from sermon given by Pastor Ryan Leeds and compiled using Sermon Shots.