Good Morning All!
1 Corinthians 13:13, “So now faith,
hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
This is the last verse of, probably, one of
the read passages of Scriptures. Psalm
23, Luke 2, John 14, then probably 1 Cor. 13 would be the top to me. This passage is most often read at weddings,
and it has a very airy and a feel-good quality.
This is one of the passages that scoffers and unbelievers look to when a
Christian dare speaks of God’s law. “I
thought you guys were all love and that stuff; what you are saying doesn’t sound
like love to me.” (sigh)
The sad thing is that when we lift this
passage out of its context; we change the meaning that Paul has for it. But we will trust the Holy Spirit to speak
what needs to be heard and look at it from the perspective that many of us read
this, as a definition of love.
We use the word love very loosely. I love my wife; I love picking apples; I love
Canadian bacon and black olive pizza; but do I really equate these three as the
same? Some do. What we need to do is to look at how we
define love and how God defines love. We
look at this passage as the definition of love.
What we see is that love, true godly love, is focused outward. It is about me giving to you because I love
you. God so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten Son; this is love.
True love is not focused on me but on thee. We actually can look at like this. Love is one thing; the other is lust.
Lust in this situation is not just how we
look at an opposite gender individual.
Lust is about satisfying me. When
we speak love words they are “you” or “them”; lust words are “me, myself and
I”. If you listen to couples who are
seeking a divorce, you hear phrases like, “I fell out of love” or “I need my
space” or “I feel the need to explore me”; all the focus is inward on my wants,
my desires, and my satisfaction. Love is
about others. So, in many ways, chapter
13 does help us to define love. It is
patient, kind, bears all things, endures all things, and never ends. Lust does not.
Unfortunately, many in the world see love
as conditional. Conditional love is
lust; it is about meeting my wants first and foremost. What is sad is that so many see this as
love. I will love you if
you love me. I will give you gifts if
you give me some. I will stay with you if
you keep me interested. I will love you
forever if someone better does not come along. True love is not a two-way street; true love
is me loving you with no strings or requirements. That is love; anything else is lust.
Can you love like that? I know
I can’t. Yet this is the kind of love
which God wants us to have; the same love He has for us. Fortunately, God’s love is this way for me;
even when I sin (which is often) God still loves me. He calls me back with his forgiveness and his
love. He continues to mold me and shape
me to try and show this love to others.
When I deal with others, like the line at the elevator, or the checkout
clerk at Wal-Mart and I remember how God treats me, I try a little harder to be
patient and kind. I do not do this
because it earns me anything it simply brings me closer to Jesus. The same is true for all of us. These three remain; faith, hope and love; but
the greatest of these is love.
Holy Father, your love
is demonstrated in our lives at every turn.
Too often we miss it by rushing other directions or ignoring the
signs. Forgive us for being slow to love
as we are loved. Guard us and guide us
by your faithful hand to love as you continue to shape us and mold us into your
holy image. In Jesus’ precious name we
pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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