Last week we discussed the responsibility we have as men who are pursuing God, to love as God loves. We discovered the challenge to love others, even if we don’t receive their love in return. We are even to love those who treat us poorly. We will continue this discussion with a look at the characteristics of love God asks us to model.
In Scripture, there is a passage familiar to many that give us some guidelines as to what our love for people should include. These verses are often read at weddings as an encouragement to couples to love each other well, and this is a valid use. However, by looking at the context of these verses, we see God has something for each of us.
The Apostle Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians from a position of concern and distress. Word had reached him that the people in the Corinthian church were acting very badly. There were reports of gross sexual perversion, corrupt financial practices, and even selfishness in how they were functioning as a church. This letter was Paul’s attempt to bring clarity to this group of individuals on how God wanted them to respond to the saving grace they had been taught. It is the selfishness and pride which existed in this church that is being addressed in chapter 13. So as we read these words about love, they are not the reinforcement of attitudes and actions of newlyweds staring into each other’s eyes. Instead, they are words of expectation of how a man who is pursuing godliness should treat everyone he encounters.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8a; “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.”
A recap of verses 1-3 reveals the priority God puts on our choice to love others well. Here we have a litany of some exceptionally good ministry practices, strong teaching, wisdom, faith, and generosity. But he declares these to be worthless if we don’t demonstrate love. This is God reminding us of a phrase that has become a cliché, but still vital in our understanding, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!”
This admonition is followed in verses 4-8 with a definition of a person who models the love of Christ. I don’t think I have to spend time explaining these qualities. There are no hidden messages here. The Apostle Paul is sharing God’s heart when he reminds us to always put others first. We are to love with a humility that is less concerned about our own needs than we are about how people perceive us as those who claim to have been transformed by the redemption of Christ. His message is clear that we could be very gifted at laying out the truth of the Gospel to someone who is lost, but it will fall on deaf ears if we have not first shown them genuine love and concern. This is not done through words but is demonstrated through actions.
Scripture is clear that God is love. As representatives of him to this lost world, we must be also.