Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13
If we eliminate the negatives, we find that the absence of envy, boasting, and pride imply the presence of something else. Perhaps they imply that love is content, benevolent, and humble. Perhaps they imply that love celebrates the good always.
We celebrate its presence anywhere. We value goodness so highly that we delight in it even when it unfolds in the life of someone else. We enjoy the presence of good, even when it’s not on our preferred time table. We’re content with the good bestowed upon us and we don’t boast or feel proud about the presence of good in our lives, because we recognize it all as gift and grace. These positive attributes of contentment, benevolence, and humility come from a place of properly understanding goodness as gift and not as something we are entitled to.
I find it so consistent and true to God’s nature that as we are drawn into deeper relationship with the Giver of all good, we become more celebratory people. Such a perfect gift.
