Pursuing Love

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time. Buckle up! You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus!

Do you want your friendships to go deeper? Well, we’ll talk about that. Feeling lonely because you don’t have a BFF? We’ll go there, too! In fact, we’re even gonna talk about how to deal with mean girls. 

At the center of it all is your friendship with Jesus. Afterall, it’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have.

True Girl is hosted by Dannah Gresh. She’s author of Talking with Your Daughter about Best Friends & Mean Girls. Let’s get moving for season 4, episode 1 titled “Pursuing Love.” Here’s Dannah.

Dannah Gresh: Hey, true girl! I’m glad you’re back to spend time with me.

Staci Rudolph: And me! I’m Staci Rudolph. And it’s a pleasure to meet ya if it’s your first time with us.

Dannah: Staci, can you believe we are on season four of The True Girl podcast? 

Staci: No way! 

Dannah: This season we are going to be talking about . . . could you give me a drum roll please? Best friends . . . and mean girls.

Staci: Come on Dannah, you kind of ruined the mood there, just a little bit. 

Dannah: Well, unfortunately this is a reality in the girl world, Staci. We all probably know a girl who can be mean, or maybe you have been mean at some point. 

Staci: You’re right. If I’m honest, I’ve definitely had friendship drama. Even in some of my best relationships.

Dannah: Well, don’t you think that kind of comes with the territory of relationships? Even as I sit here today, I’m literally experiencing some problems in some really important relationships in my life. 

So, I want to start out by saying, if you have a friendship that’s not going just the way you want it to, you’re not alone. I’m there with you. I think this season of the True Girl podcast is going to be full of helpful advice for you . . . and for me.

Staci: Or maybe you’re like me, and you just realize, “Hey, it seems like everyone else has more friends than me. Is that okay?” Well, we’ll help you go to God’s Word with your loneliness and questions. 

This season we’re going to give you some solid advice on how to handle challenges in your relationships as we look at seven secrets of healthy friendships found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 

Dannah: Before we get started, there are three things you need to know about 1 Corinthians 13 so you can understand why we chose this chapter of the Bible to sort out any friendship problems you may be facing. Here’s the first thing you need to know:

The book of 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. Do you know why he wrote it? Because they were having all kinds of relationship problems! I mean, you name it, they probably were fighting about it. So, Paul got out his pen, and He wrote to them about each problem they were facing. Then he gave them some practical advice. So, in some ways, this book of the Bible was written for people who have relationship drama. 

Staci: Which brings us to the second thing you need to know about the book of 1 Corinthians. 

For each problem the people in Corinth face, Paul describes it. Then he gives them a little bit of practical advice related to that problem. But with every piece of advice, He reminds them about their friendship with Jesus. He basically says, “Your relationships with friends and family should look different from the rest of the world because of your friendship with Jesus.” Ouch! He’s basically saying, “If you’re Christians, act like it!” 

So, this book of the Bible reminds us that if we are Christians and have friendship with Jesus, our other relationships will be impacted by that.

Dannah: That’s right, Staci, and so good. And here’s the last thing you need to know as we study 1 Corinthians 13 to solve some of our friendship dilemmas.

First Corinthians 13 is not about friendship. The topic is LOVE! But, that’s sort of the foundation of any good relationship. Am I right? 

Now, the love described in this chapter isn’t just any kind of love. It’s the kind we experience and learn to give when we have friendship with Jesus Christ, which is a very special kind of love.

So, 1 Corinthians 13—which is sometimes called the love chapter of the Bible—outlines some really specific qualities or secrets to the kind of love we express when we have received love from Jesus. We’re going to take time to look at seven of these characteristics starting next week.

Staci: But this week, we want to start with a story of true love. 

Dannah: Yep, we sure do. 

Once, a pet store owner was tacking up a sign. It was going right above his door. It read “Puppies for Sale!” As the man hammered away, a little boy walked by. He gazed up at the sign with a huge smile on his face.

Eli: Hi, Mr. Wilson!

Mr. Wilson: Hey, Eli!

Eli: How much are your puppies?

Mr. Wilson: Fifty bucks.

Eli: Can I see them?

Mr. Wilson: Well, sure.

Dannah: Out from the back came a golden retriever. She ran down the aisle, followed by five teeny tiny bundles of fur.

Eli: Hi, puppies.

Dannah: One puppy was lagging considerably behind the rest. Immediately, the boy singled out that lagging, limping straggler.

Eli: Oh, what’s wrong with him?

Dannah: The man explained that it had been born with no hip socket, and it would limp for the rest of its life.

Eli: I want this one! I have $2.37. I can pay that now and the rest later.

Dannah: The little dog covered the boy’s face with puppy kisses.

Mr. Wilson: Eli, are you sure you don’t want a different one?

Eli: Why? I like this one.

Mr. Wilson: Well, I didn’t think I could sell that one, so if you really want it, I will give it to you. How about that?

Eli: I don’t want you to give him to me. He’s worth as much as the others. I’ll give you $2.37 now and fifty cents every month until I pay all of it.

Mr. Wilson: But you know he’s never going to be able to run and play like the other ones.

Dannah: In response, the little boy reached down, rolled up his pant leg, revealing a badly twisted leg. It was supported by a big metal brace.

Eli: Well, you know? I don’t run so well either, and this puppy is going to need someone who understands.

Dannah: The boy left his money on the counter as he and the puppy walked proudly out of the store!

Staci: That is so sweet, I teared up a little bit, I’m not going to lie.

Dannah: True girl, that's kinda what love looks like. Love sees our weaknesses and our wounds and moves towards them. We don’t move away when someone is a lot of work. We move toward them. And that is the kind of love that builds the best friendship. True love. 

That’s the kind of love Jesus has for us. He sees our sin and our weaknesses and He moved toward us in love to save us. We can only learn about this kind of love from Him. The ability to love like Him comes from Him, and that’s why our friendship with Jesus is so important to all our other relationships. 

Staci: And that brings us back to 1 Corinthians 13, which describes the love of Jesus. We’ll study that chapter starting next week, and that’s gonna help us learn how to love well.

But for this week, I want to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 14.

Dannah: Hmm, shaking it up. 

Staci: Yeah, shaking it up just a little bit. 

Now, you remember that this book of the Bible was written because there was a lot of relationship drama in Corinth. Well, after Paul wrote about all of those problems and gave them advice, he comes to the end of the book and has advice that helps with all of the problems. I want to read a summary of it to you: 1 Corinthians 14:1.

Let’s read our power verse of the day

The first sentence in 1 Corinthians 14:1 reads like this, “Let love be your highest goal!”

Dannah: Wow, let love be your highest goal! I like that.

But Staci, I’m reading a different version of the Bible. You know what? This is a good time for a rabbit trail. So, when I say I’m reading a different version, you probably know that doesn’t mean it says something different. And you might also know the Bible was written a long time ago and was originally in two ancient languages. Do you know what they were?

Staci: I think I just heard a true girl in Nebraska say Hebrew!

Dannah: Yeah, I heard that too! Yes. That’s the Old Testament. What about the New Testament?

Staci: Did you hear that? I think someone said Greek.

Dannah: Okay, Staci. Yeah. And there’s also some Aramaic in there.

Staci: That sounds like a cooking spice!

Dannah: Nope, it’s a language. Jesus spoke in Aramaic.

Staci: So the point is, modern people have translated the Bible into our modern languages—like English. We call them, fittingly, translations. Each translator tries to get their translation as close to the original as possible, but there are sometimes little differences in how it comes out. 

Dannah: Back to 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Let love be your highest goal…” That’s how it sounds in Staci’s version. Now, let me read how it’s worded in my version. It says, “Pursue love.” So not only is it a high goal, but you’ve got to get out there and pursue it. Do it! Or follow in the way of it. That's pretty simple. 

Staci: Hey! That’s just like that little boy and the puppy. He pursued that limping puppy. Like you said earlier, the boy saw the puppy’s need and moved towards it. We're called to pursue—or move towards—friendships just like that. 

Dannah: And that’s like the big picture definition of love. “See a need and move towards it.” But you might be saying, “Uh, exactly how do you pursue love? What things do I do to move towards someone’s need?”

Staci: And that is a great question. In this season of the True Girl podcast, you're going to learn just that as we study 1 Corinthians 13. It’ll take the whole season, but we’re going to study the whole chapter of this book in the Bible because it tells us how to pursue love—how to see a need and move towards it.

Dannah: Yup, starting next week, we’ll learn seven secrets to true friendship. Each week we’ll explore one practical way we can be a true friend. We’ll work on our kindness and patience, for example. 

And, of course, we’re going to make this very practical. This, my friend, is where the True Girl podcast gets really fun. 

Staci: Okay so on each date, we’ll issue a challenge. Are you ready to hear today’s challenge? It’s a big one. I’m issuing a season long epic challenge to you today!

Dannah: Let’s hear it.

Staci: Your challenge is to memorize 1 Corinthians 13.

Dannah: The whole chapter, Staci?

Staci: The whole thing.

Dannah: Oh, I love it! Well, It’s only 13 verses long so, not too bad.

Staci: You can do it! I believe in you. 

Dannah: Okay, I’m going to take the challenge because I need to memorize this chapter so I can remember how to pursue true love. I hope you’ll join me, but even if you don’t, listen in next time when we begin to study 1 Corinthians 13.

Staci: And in the meantime, do your best to: Pursue love. Be intentional. Find a specific way to follow in the path of it. Live out 1 Corinthians 14:1. 

Dannah: Yup, pursue love! See a need and move toward it.

Staci: Not away from it. But toward it. You got this! Like, sit next to the new girl at school and just making her feel welcome. 

Dannah: Yeah, or maybe help your little brother with his math. 

Staci: Or bake cookies for a friend who is home sick, and she can’t go out much. 

Dannah: Yeah, or help your dad sweep out the garage. Wouldn’t you have a happy dad after that? 

See a need and move toward it. See you next time true girl. 

Claire Black: Pursue love! I think I’ve got it. See a need and move towards it! 

After today’s program, I realize that whenever I see the kitchen or living room dirty, I can clean it without being asked.

And, I’m pretty sure I can memorize 1 Corinthians 13 So, yeah, I’m all in on that!

To experience a great mom/daughter connection experience on the topic of pursuing love, check out Talking with Your Daughter about Best Friends And Mean Girls. It’s a book written by Dannah Gresh, and it goes really nicely with this season of the True Girl podcast. 

Each week, you’ll have a simple, easy-to-plan mom/daughter date that reinforces the truth we talk about in that week’s corresponding podcast. You can learn more about that book and all the other resources to bring moms and daughters close to each other and closer to Jesus, at MyTrueGirl.com.

Join us next time when we explore a friendship super power: kindness! Please be back for the True Girl podcast!

True Girl is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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