How often do we see the Bible verse from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 about what Love is printed on posters, t-shirts, and other items. It is one of those go-to Christian motivation passages of the Bible which people pull out and I think that is good, it is important to learn, study, and understand what love is meant to be if one is a Disciple of the Christ who is Jesus. It is my concern though that when we pull out only those verses we miss out on the fullness of the lesson that is taught in 1 Corinthians 13 which I see is so valid in today’s world
Let us look first at verses 1-3 – 1 If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels, but I do not have love, I have become a sounding brass [gong] or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I dole-out all my possessions, and if I hand-over my body so that I may boast, but I do not have love, I am profited nothing.
When we react to something out of anger or frustration, how often do we get our point across? Probably never, we end up throwing insults and using disparaging language that shuts down any communication. Sometimes both sides of the disagreement end up yelling past each other, accusing the other party of doing exactly what they themselves are doing. Now in a perfect world, we would all have hearts full of love and we could simply tell people I disagree with you and here are my reasons, because their hearts are also filled with love they would listen and consider our reasons. Since ours is not a perfect world we should temper our disagreements, expressing ourselves in a loving and respectful way but expecting neither love nor respect in return. We must accept that there are those in this world we cannot reach but by doing what is right we send sparks into the world that can light flames in the darkness.
We all have “visions” of what will happen if someone does X or Y and a “body of knowledge about certain things” upon which rests all that we believe, these visions and body of knowledge are the strength upon which our faith ultimately rests. Now we each have a responsibility to evaluate what we believe and honestly test those beliefs against what Love is. There will be times when those beliefs will pass the litmus test, the majority of the time though if examined closely they will not. We must constantly be testing what we believe so that we can grow.
Then there are those who give out charity on their terms and then boast that for example they “Support Veterans” or “Feed the Homeless” and they put out their statements for all to hear. If coming from a position of love, one would be trying to convince others to join them in these charitable tasks not just making statements. More people would be saying “I work with an organization that supports Veterans and we need help with …” or similar statements to try and encourage others to become more charitable.
Let us move on then to verses 4-8 that describe what Love is – 4 Love is patient. Love shows-kindness. Love does not envy, does not brag, is not puffed-up, 5 does not behave-dishonorably, does not seek its own things, is not provoked, does not count the bad, 6 does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices-with the truth, 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will be set-aside. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be set-aside.
So this is it, our litmus test by which we check our words, actions, and beliefs about ourselves and other people. Ourselves? Absolutely, we are told the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors, as we love ourselves. How can your heart towards others be loving if you loathe yourself? If you do not see that you have self-worth can you truly value another? So you have to start looking at your life through this microscope and it is hard. Here is a harsh truth, you will fall down, come up short, and fail at this more times than you can count. You could spend a lifetime trying to master this as a way of life and still find yourself getting angry and lashing out at someone. There are people in this world who will hate you and express that openly to you and you will react. That is why when Jesus taught his disciples to pray he taught that we are to be constantly asking the Lord to “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgave our debtors” because this is a way of life to be learned.
This brings us into the rest of 1 Corinthians 13 8-13 – 8 Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will be set-aside. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be set-aside. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part— 10 but when the complete thing comes, the thing in part will be set-aside. 11 When I was a child, I was speaking like a child, thinking like a child, counting like a child— when I have become a man, I have set-aside the things of the child. 12 For now we are seeing through a mirror, in an enigma— but then face to face. Now I know in part— but then I will know-fully, just as I also was fully-known. 13 But now these three are remaining— faith, hope, love. But love is the greater of these.
Yes I duplicated verse 8 in this section, not only is the statement “Love never fails” part of the litmus test we use, but it speaks to the permanence of love. As we mature and exam our lives through the lens of love we will be changed and we will change the world. Our language towards others will change, our perception towards others will change until we reach the stage of verse 12 “For now we are seeing through a mirror, in an enigma- but then face to face,” in Luke 6:31 Jesus said “And just as you want people to be doing to you, be doing to them likewise”. Everyone will be your equal, there will be no desire to see anyone otherwise, and you will be kind to them because you will have achieved God’s peace.