What is Love?
Roger Allington
Certified Lay
Speaker
January 31, 2010
Scriptures
Jeremiah
1:4-10
Psalm
71:1-12
1
Corinthians 13:1-13
They say confession is good for the soul so I am
going to make a confession. I love Janet
Moore! And Dianne, and Judy, and
So what is Agape Love? Today’s Lectionary readings include 1
Corinthians 13:1-13, commonly called the “Love Chapter,” While we are all somewhat familiar with this chapter,
I thought it would be interesting to examine the individual verses to see if we
can fathom what “Love” is and what it isn’t.
As they say in the Smart Balance commercials; “Something to think
about”!
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of
mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal.
“Speaking in tongues” is generally considered to mean the ability to speak at
least two languages; i.e., be a translator.
If a translator has the ability to speak all of the earthly languages as
well as being able to converse with heavenly beings, that person has a very
valuable asset. Yet, even with all of
these assets, if the translator does not have love, s/he is just a noise-maker;
like a gong of clanging cymbal, or a New Year’s Eve noise maker!
Rotary
International has a four-way test that is appropriate here:
Of the things we think, say or do
If our translator, or anyone
else, follows these precepts in all s/he does, it will go a long way toward
being “Love.”
13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
“Prophetic powers”
are not “magical powers.” Prophets are
those who are cognizant of past and present happenings and, based on these
observations, make an accurate prediction of what is likely to be the
future. So a person who has these
prophetic powers, understands all
mysteries, has all knowledge as well
as having faith sufficient to move mountains, but does not have “love,” s/he is
“nothing”.
13:3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand
over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
We are often
admonished to “give until it hurts!” But
even if we give all that we own; money, house, car, boat, RV, etc.; if we do it
grudgingly or to show off, we do not have love.
Even if for some reason we “hand over (our) bodies in order to boast,”
we do not have love. And without love,
we are nothing!
So far we have
discussed admirable traits and abilities that are indications of greatness but
these traits and abilities are nothing unless the person having those traits
and abilities has love. Now let’s see
what Paul says that love really is.
13:4 Love is patient; love is kind; love
is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
Love is patient. How patient are we to our spouses? They say the quickest way to divorce for a
newly-wed couple is for one spouse to teach the other how to drive a car. Shortly after I was married in 1952 I
endeavored to teach my bride how to drive using downtown
But really, how often
do we fail to be patient enough to understand where the other person is coming
from? Often people “talk past each other.” He’s talking about getting the car fixed and
she’s talking about getting the cat fixed!
We need to have the patience to make sure we’re on the same page,
sometimes by starting the discussion over with a clear understanding of what we
are discussing.
How about patience
with our children? How many of us
respond to our younger children’s question “Why?” by saying “Because I say
so!”? I don’t know where I learned it
but after I found myself using the “Because I say so” phrase I learned to say
“However, I’ll tell you why I say so” and then proceed to explain the reason
for the initial instruction. A little
patience can go a long ways in resolving conflict and those with love will have
the patience.
Teens are another
issue! However, patience with a lot of
love can get one over a lot of humps. At
one point in my life we had eight children in the house ranging in age from
four to sixteen. To compound the matter,
half of the kids were teens; one sixteen-year-old and three fourteen-year-olds! We all survived but I still would not profess
to be an expert on teen raising. I did
find that by having the patience to find out where the teen was “coming from” and
reasoning with them, we could establish rules that all could live with. Love is patient.
Love is kind. We are
generally kind to our kin and those we know as friends. But are we kind to to strangers? Or how about those who hold different views
than we do? Over the years I have had the
opportunity to work with professional advocates; politicians and
attorneys. What is very interesting is
that when any of these professional advocates are debating with an opponent
they can be almost vicious in their attacks against each other. However, after the debate it is not uncommon
to find the “opponents” having a drink together and discussing family
matters! Love is kind in this example as
the contenders actually love each other even though their professional advocacy
requires debate to get the issues on the table.
What is appalling to
me is the failure of political supporters to have love or kindness to
supporters of the opposition. How often
have we seen opposing groups develop such animosity that there is pushing and
shoving which sometimes leads to actual combat.
The animosity lingers even after the actual confrontation is over such
that often continuing hatred develops.
This is not kindness nor is it love.
Love would recognize the fact that there is opposition, argue the points
and then enjoy the friendship that comes with brotherly love with the agreement
to disagree agreeably.
13:5 It (Love) does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
The challenge “My way
or the highway” is an example of one having their own way; it is not love. Irritability toward another or resentfulness
are not love. We all have these traits
occasionally but if we have love toward others, we need to “get over it!”
13:6 it (Love) does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
While we probably do
not rejoice in wrong doing, we sometimes feel good about another’s misfortune,
especially when we feel we have been wronged by that person. This is not love. Love does not rejoice in untruths, wrong
doing nor mishaps to others.
13:7 It (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
Love is strong and
resilient. When my kids were growing up
they would occasionally be faced with a situation where to do the right thing
prompted them to say “But that isn’t fair!”
My response was always; “Life’s not fair but you have to be!” For the most part that motto has stuck with
the kids who are now grandparents themselves!
Love falls into that category; life isn’t fair but those with love will
treat everyone fairly.
13:8 Love never ends. But as for
prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for
knowledge, it will come to an end.
13:9 For we know only in part, and we
prophesy only in part;
13:10 but when the complete comes, the
partial will come to an end.
Love never ends for
God is Love! All other things will pass
away but the Love of God will remain forever.
Jesus, by His life, shows us God’s love.
He was patient and kind. He was
not boastful, arrogant nor rude. And He
rejoiced in the truth!
13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult,
I put an end to childish ways.
13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,
but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know
fully, even as I have been fully known.
We do not know all
there is to know about love in the temporal sense and we sure do not know
everything about God’s Love! As Paul
says, “now we see...dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part, then I will know
fully.” I am reminded of an incident
after I presented a message to this congregation based on Jesus comment that he
had other sheep to tend to. My message
suggested that Christians were not the only people God cares for. Jane Enns asked me afterward how that squares
with Jesus saying “No person comes to the Father except by me?” I said I didn’t know for sure and Jane said;
“Well, we’ll find out someday!” And
she’s right; someday, as Paul says, we will
come face to face with God and then we will know the answers to all our
questions!
13:13 And now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
We must have faith in
God through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even
though the world is in chaos and personal things are not going as we would
like, we must have faith that God is with us.
Such faith gives us hope for a better tomorrow, if not in this world,
then in the next. While faith and hope
are cornerstones, love is the greatest building block. Love can conquer almost anything. And the greatest love ever was shown about
2000 years ago when God loved us so much that he gave his son, Jesus the
Christ, as a sacrifice for our sins.
As we pass Epiphany,
the baptism of Christ, and move toward Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, let
us be very aware of the love of God as set forth in the sacrifice and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Love that
will never end and is there for us, if we will but accept it. “God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten son that whosoever beliveth in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life!” (John 3:16)
Amen