This title comes from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Take time to pause and reflect on how you have experienced that love in your life. If we think of love as an active verb, as well as being a noun, who are the people who have built you up, who have encouraged you, lifted you up when you stumbled, opened doors of all kinds for you, paved the way before you, lighted up the dark places, enlightened your heart, celebrated your successes and provided balm for you failures, smiled on seeing you, listened to what was on your mind, awakened hope when you had none, helped out when you bit off more than you could chew, shared their stories with you? You know them. They are the folks who have loved you into being the person you are today.

For those of us who were fortunate, that building up started out with loving parents and our extended family. When we got to school, occasionally there was a special teacher who paid attention to our needs. Later dear friends and lovers entered out lives, and God used them to build us up. As we mature, we may become aware of encouraging love coming from the most unlikely places—folks God sends our way from time to time to awaken us to Divine Love at work in the world.

God uses each of us, whether we are aware of it or not, to be Love in this place, to reach out to those around us, to build them up as we are inspired—maybe something as simple as a smile, or a phone call, or a text, or a card is all it takes to be present to one who needs to experience God’s love with flesh on it. Consider whom God may want you to build up today.