“And I will show you a still more excellent way,” Paul says, and he starts talking about love.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to include this reading in weddings, although, to be honest, it goes against my grain to use 1 Corinthians 13 in weddings. This is not about marriage, and it is certainly not about romance! No, this is about love – agape (a-gop-eh) to be precise. And while we certainly desire for agape to part of marriage (and therefore I relented and have had this text in weddings), this love is much more than the love we think of between a bride and a groom.
My Theological Dictionary of the New Testament has forty-six pages dedicated to this one word. I think that testifies to the profundity of what Paul writes here. And it makes sense that defining this word should not be easy, after all, John 4:8 says, “God is agape.” Try putting God in a box and see how He fits!
This love is the pure selfless love that God pours out on us. This is the love that inspired Jesus to die in our place. This is the love and gave the Holy Spirit the idea to dwell within us. This love changes us.
So, often we base our relationship with God on our performance – speaking in tongues, prophetic powers, knowledge, understanding, deep faith, generosity, or courage – but Paul says that without love it’s all worthless. Our relationship with God really roots in His love for us. That’s where it all begins – God looking out from eternity on wayward rebellious children (you and me) and loving us.
Someday we’re going to know this love perfectly. It’s going to rock our world. In fact, it will be the beginning of a new world when we are in heaven and we get to fully know even as we are fully known. Until then, we receive reminders of God’s love and He bountifully pours it out on us in the Word and Sacraments. We root our lives in that love and try to let it overflow through us to others.
This passage is worth meditating on. Re-read it. Love is patient, kind, does not brag, is not arrogant, not self seeking nor easily provoked. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
That’s how God feels about you. And someday, we’ll be able to love like that, too – not because we try hard, but because we’ve been so well loved.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to include this reading in weddings, although, to be honest, it goes against my grain to use 1 Corinthians 13 in weddings. This is not about marriage, and it is certainly not about romance! No, this is about love – agape (a-gop-eh) to be precise. And while we certainly desire for agape to part of marriage (and therefore I relented and have had this text in weddings), this love is much more than the love we think of between a bride and a groom.
My Theological Dictionary of the New Testament has forty-six pages dedicated to this one word. I think that testifies to the profundity of what Paul writes here. And it makes sense that defining this word should not be easy, after all, John 4:8 says, “God is agape.” Try putting God in a box and see how He fits!
This love is the pure selfless love that God pours out on us. This is the love that inspired Jesus to die in our place. This is the love and gave the Holy Spirit the idea to dwell within us. This love changes us.
So, often we base our relationship with God on our performance – speaking in tongues, prophetic powers, knowledge, understanding, deep faith, generosity, or courage – but Paul says that without love it’s all worthless. Our relationship with God really roots in His love for us. That’s where it all begins – God looking out from eternity on wayward rebellious children (you and me) and loving us.
Someday we’re going to know this love perfectly. It’s going to rock our world. In fact, it will be the beginning of a new world when we are in heaven and we get to fully know even as we are fully known. Until then, we receive reminders of God’s love and He bountifully pours it out on us in the Word and Sacraments. We root our lives in that love and try to let it overflow through us to others.
This passage is worth meditating on. Re-read it. Love is patient, kind, does not brag, is not arrogant, not self seeking nor easily provoked. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
That’s how God feels about you. And someday, we’ll be able to love like that, too – not because we try hard, but because we’ve been so well loved.
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