1 Corinthians 13 ~ Exegesis by a 4yo

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Three Valentines ago, back before Esmé became so wordy I couldn’t put words in her mouth anymore, we wrote a 22-month-old’s rendition of 1 Corinthians 13.

Today, I asked Esmé to do it again.  And here it is in her own words this time – this is the kind of stuff I couldn’t make up…

#13?  That’s my personal valentine this year!  Wishing you and yours the same sweet love…

LOVE...

1. Is patient. You wait in line to get 9 cookies for snack, and then you only take one at a time.

2. Is kind. You just do something good by giving someone something they want, like a valentine or a teddy bear.

3. Does not envy. Like if Mia is the only person in the world who has raisins, then you shouldn’t ask her for some.  You should wait for her to buy you or give you some.

4. Does not boast. If someone says “I’m the prettiest girl in the whole wide world, no one else is!” that wouldn’t be true, because other people are pretty.

5. Is not proud. THAT is unbelievable.  You love someone, but you’re not proud of them?  That just doesn’t make sense!

6. Is not rude. In the story about Rudolph, when all the other reindeer were laughing at him because he had such a pretty nose?  That’s being rude!

7. Is not self-seeking. Like if we were at the library, and you wanted to read a book, but I wanted to read it first, that would not be love.

8. Is not easily angered. Like when you get mad and leave the room.

9. Keeps no record of wrongs. If someone breaks your book or rips the page or bends it, then you wouldn’t say to that person the next day, “You’re mean, so I’m not gonna let you be my friend anymore.”

10. Always protects. Simon banged his head on a chair.  I built a wall of sticks around him and glued them together and put some squishy mud on it.  So now when he falls, he doesn’t hurt his head as much as on the chair.

11. Always trusts. Like in rock climbing.  I trusted the teacher down below at Adventurers.  And I wore the shirt that all the other kids were wearing.

12. Always hopes. I hoped that Cyndi would let me take my Valentine home, but that hope didn’t come true.  But I’m still hoping I can take it home tomorrow.  For my birthday, I’m hoping to get a unicorn as big as a horse.  I LOVE unicorns.  I hope there are unicorns in heaven.

13. Always perseveres. Like I love you!  I’ll never stop loving you!  I still love you even when you’re kind of mean to me, like when you’re not giving me the movie I asked for.

LOVE never fails.

Cuz God is love. And when He lives in me, His love shines through me, too...