And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love. (1
Corinthians 13:13 )
Several years ago, Tina Turner,
belted out a pop song that rose to number one.
It cynically asked, “What’s love got to do with it?” The song calls love, “a second hand emotion”
and “a sweet old fashioned notion,” but really the relationship is only about
sex—nothing more than hormones and physiology. Considering the abuse she
endured at the hands of her ex-husband Ike, we may have some sympathy with her choice
of lyrics. Despite the misuse and abuse
of the word, “love,” as far as God is concerned, there is nothing more
important! Jesus taught that the
fulfillment of all our duty to God and man is summarized in the expression of
love (Matt.22:36-40 ). Paul amplifies on that theme in 1 Corinthians 13 .
There is THE PRIMACY OF LOVE
(v.1-3). Out of the holy trinity of
Christian virtues—faith, hope and love—it is love that reigns supernal and
eternal. Love is transcendent. You can talk about love with great eloquence
and not exhibit it; you can be correct in your belief and cruel in your
behavior; you can have a head full of knowledge, but a heart empty of love; you
can have supernatural power, but its origin be Satan the hater and not the God
of love; you can be generous, so others praise you, and not because you care;
and you can even die for your cause—not out of love, but hate (suicide bombers,
for example). Love is the foundation and
motivation for all that is good. It has
devotion to God and compassion for others as the source, substance, and sum of
it.
Then, there is THE PRACTICE OF
LOVE (v.4-7). Love is more than an
emotion—it is an action. The Apostle
does not try to define love by what it is, so much as to describe what it
does. In the Greek text, each term is a
verb, and is in the present, continuous sense, showing aptitudes and actions
that are to become our nature through repeated practice. Love is the fruit of the Spirit, produced as
we yield to Him in faith and obedience.
The personification of these is Jesus.
Each of these qualities was embodied in His example. Following Christ demands that I seek to do
likewise. Paul presents the positive
direction of what love is and the prohibited dimension of what love is not.
Finally, there is THE PERMANENCE
OF LOVE (v.8-13). Life may end, but love
lives on. Love never fails; it is
victorious. People may fail to receive
our love, but love never fails, for even when spurned makes us better for
offering it. Love is not only powerful
in victory, but priceless in value. All
that is of this material world is fading away—even good things like speaking
with prophecies and in tongues will end someday, having served their purpose—but
love is of enduring worth. Love is
powerful in victory, priceless in value, and preeminent in virtue—said by the
Apostle to be the greatest gift of God, even lasting beyond faith and hope, as
significant as they are. There is a time
faith will become sight and hope will be fulfilled—no more needed—but, love
will be the environment of eternity!
What’s love got to do with
it? Absolutely everything!
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