MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
Since 2007 when I started writing for this newspaper, I can find only two articles that centered around 1 Corinthians 13, the "love chapter". One was near a Valentine's Day, and the other a few months later when the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill was observed. Both had to do with love between two individuals, but this week we'll explore the chapter and agape love in a little more detail.
The past weeks we've focused on the importance of unity in the Church. We saw Jesus' followers compared to a family, a body, and a spiritual house built of living stones. Paul warned in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 through 14 of a potential division, and he encouraged readers to avoid that by pursuing the "greater gifts" and "a more excellent way". Galatians 5:22-23 outlines the "fruits of the Spirit" which begin with love, and Jesus had already told His followers, "'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another'" (John 13:34).
Let us summarize 1 Corinthians 13, where the King James Version describes love as "charity" and in the Greek the word is agape. Both Paul and Jesus referred to agape as something which can only be expressed if we love Jesus. Agape seeks only the good of others, taking no thought of benefit or reward. It is redemptive, and comes from God through His Holy Spirit. We receive it when we're yielded to the Spirit and make Him Lord of our life.
Verses 1-3: love is essential. Other graces are helpful, but love is absolutely necessary, the soul of the Christian experience and message. Paul highly valued prophecy, but he said that without love, prophecy is meaningless. Knowledge, and the faith to work miracles, are worthless without love. Even mercy and self-sacrifice, no matter how noble, are of no benefit if they are not accompanied by love.
Verses 4-8: love demonstrates Christlikeness. In fact, I've heard it said that this passage has the most meaning when the verses are read aloud and Jesus' name is substituted for "love". A modified reading of the New American Standard Version then could be, "Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, and is not jealous; Jesus does not act unbecomingly; Jesus does not seek His own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never fails ...". Love that is Christlike endures much, because Jesus loves people in spite of circumstances. Christlike love avoids negative conduct such as envy, pride, dishonorable behavior, self-serving actions, taking personal offense, thinking evil of others, or seeking the downfall of another.
Verses 7-13: love is the most complete of God's graces. Love expects the best out of another person, looks at each one with confidence and hope, and remains dedicated in the face of failure. With agape love, we'll need to put away all the childish things we once thought important, and become mature. Deliberately and decisively, we begin to choose to love as Jesus loves. Prophecy, tongues and knowledge are temporary, but "love never fails". In heaven there will be no need of prophecies, tongues and knowledge, yet love will endure. Once we experience the perfect light of the knowledge of God's love, all other concerns will vanish. We'll suddenly realize that all we know here is partial, compared to the fulness of God's revelation in heaven.
Paul concludes the chapter by contrasting the temporary gifts - which we may have been so taken with - with the three abiding graces offered by God: faith, hope, and love. Faith is essential to salvation (see Romans 3:28 and Galatians 2:20). Hope in Jesus provides strength that enables us to endure life's challenges (Hebrews 6:19). But the greatest is love.
Dr Faris Whitesell summarized it this way: love makes life's gifts profitable, it makes life's relationships beautiful, and life's contributions eternal. May we yield to the Spirit of Christ who loves us so that we may share His love.
