As indispensable as truth, good words, and faith are, what is more important…
To know all there is to know…
To say all that can be said…
To have faith that with God all things are possible… or to love?
An inspired Paul writes that knowing all that is true, and saying all that is right, and believing God for what others think is impossible… all together… equals nothing, without love (1Cor 13). (The “nothing” Paul has in mind must refer to what we bring to relationships, because faith has saving value and knowledge is essential to faith).
Love is patient… but patience is not love
Love is kind… but kindness is not love
Love always hopes… but hope is not love
God is love…but love is not God.
Paul does not say, “To love: Be patient. Be kind. Don’t seek your own way.” He says, “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not seek it’s own way.”
So if to love is to care for others as we care for ourselves, how do we love those who have turned against us? How do we do it with the kind of heart that mothers and fathers have for a newborn baby, or with the kind of self-sacrifice that a 23 year old shows for fellow soldiers as he throws his body over a grenade to sacrifice his life for theirs?
Seems to me that the answer is not in a “how” as much as in the “who.” At any given moment, who among us are allowing ourselves to be so loved by the one who gave us life…before giving his life for ours… that the kind of love he showed for his friends and enemies can sometimes be seen flowing through us?
Could that be why, in 1Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul doesn’t express love as a moral duty, but rather seems to describe it in the present tense of “what is…” or “who is” letting the Spirit of Christ… show his love through us?
(+48 rating, 49 votes)
Loading...