SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13
OBSERVATION:
Paul is saying that the most important thing we can do is love people, its what gives legitimacy to all that I do for the Lord.
We will never fully understand everything, so don’t make knowledge your highest goal – make faith, hope and especially love your highest ambition.
Paul is challenging the super-spiritual believers in Corinth whose spiritual experiences were leading them to look down on lesser believers.
Love is defined – not selfish love but sacrifial, self denying love.
APPLICATION:
What is the bottom line, the most important ‘fruit’ of a Christ-follower – self-denying, neighbor serving, God-glorifying love.
Anyone who has deep knowledge or experiences of God, or has done great things for God, should be warned about pride.
Where do I act ‘above’ others because of what I know, or what I’ve experienced, or what I’ve done.
This definition of love could be like the new 10 commandments, something to post all around the house, to talk about with everyone (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
PRAYER:
Lord, love is something we all long for, but few of us understand. Help me to grow in my understanding of Your love, and help me to show it to others! Amen.
Just a question. If love does not envy how is God a Jelous God? Is the meaning in these two words lost in translation some where?
As a side comment: this verse always makes me think of the DC Talk Song Love is a verb. As someone who is not yet married (only a year and a bit!!!!!) I always used to question what exactly love is and how do you know when you are in love? But then I came to think that love is more of an action, a choice you make. Love is something that takes work and for me to love the sinner takes work, loving others as I love myself takes work, and this reminds me that I need to work at loving others and although I find it easier to love some and to show my love to those people I need to still show love to those I wouldn’t usually show love too.
I also felt the same way. If true love is attained by completing that “checklist” of ten requirements, then I have some work to do.
I also get the feeling of love being a sort of “measurable” thing. If we take each situation and break it down step by step, checking off the ten requirements, maybe we can measure how true our “love” in each situation is. For instance, if we are patient and kind, we have love to a degree, but we still need to be free of envy, boasting, pride, etc. Possibly, if in a certain circumstance of love we are able to check off all ten requirements, we have finally attained “pure love”, for that certain circumstance of course because all of us know how hard it is to always be patiend, kind, non-envious, etc. By checking off all ten requirements, according to this passage, it’s as though we have experienced pure love as God Himself wants us to experience it.
To be able to live with pure love constantly, is a long stretch for me but it’s definitely something to strive for. I suppose when we get to Heaven though, we can stop imagining and finally start living it.
I am very challenged by today’s reading. The foot notes in my Bible read as follows: “love. The Greek for this word indicates a selfless concern for the welfare of others that is not called forth by any quality of lovableness in the person loved, but is the product of a will to love in obedience to God’s command. It is like Christ’s love manifested on the cross.” Versus 4-6 appear to be the 10 commandments of love – 1. It is patient. 2. It is kind. 3. It does not envy. 4. It does not boast. 5. It is not proud. 6. It is not rude 7. It is not self-seeking. 8. It is not easily angered. 9. It keeps no record of wrongs. 10. Love does not delight in evil. I confess I have broken several of these commandments and need God’s grace and love to forgive me and help me to love His way not mine.