Post by Julia on Apr 11, 2009 18:20:08 GMT -5
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If 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 have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
This is one of my favorite Bible passages. It not only reminds us of God's unconditional love, but teaches us how to love each other as He loves us.
The first part of this passage tells us that no matter how strong our faith, our beliefs, no matter how good our intentions or how great our abilities, without love, we have nothing and we can do nothing. If you take it out of the figurative language the Bible uses and transfer it to our lives, you get something like this:
Abbie went to church every week. She enjoyed being there, but most of all she enjoyed the music. It was the best part of the week, as far as she was concerned. She volunteered for the activities, she worked around town, she got good grades, and did everything she was expected to do. But when the pastor asked one Sunday "Are you happy with your life, or are you merely content? What about your relationship with God? Happy, or content?" She knew that the honest answer was that she was content with her life. She did what she was expected to, what she was supposed to. But she didn't enjoy doing it very much, she usually just went though the motions. It was a choice, but it wasn't one she was glad she had made. She didn't love what she did, she didn't love the results she gave. She didn't love the people she was working with and volunteering with. She was okay with them. And that gave her no pleasure, no joy in knowing that she had done well.
Annie could do everything in the world, anything she put her mind to, but without loving those around her and loving what she did, she got nowhere. Sometimes it can be hard to love people, hard to love what we do. Now look at the second part of that passage. The fourteen things listed about love. It is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Loving something doesn't necessarily mean enjoying it. Loving something in the worldly sense of the word does, but not the way the Bible is talking about it. To love someone, be patient and kind with them, no matter how you feel about them. Don't hold grudges, don't let your temper get the better of you.
Think of how easily we make bad habits. From biting our fingernails to cursing to procrastination. Those are easy to make and hard to break. The habit of loving someone or something in the Biblical sense of the word is a hard habit to make, but also a hard one to break.
The third part of this passage talks about how everything eventually fails. That is, everything but love. All worldly things will die, fail, or simply cease to exist. That isn't so with true Biblical love. The habit of truly loving someone is hard to break. Once we get into the habit of that, we will treat everyone this way, not wanting to be one to die, to not spend eternity with our Father. Romans 13:9* tells us that all the commandments can be summed up as "Love your neighbor as yourself"
The final verse of this passage carries a strong message. We were given faith, hope, and love. They are all three amazing qualities, but this tell us that, above all, love is important.
*Romans 13:9
9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If 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 have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
This is one of my favorite Bible passages. It not only reminds us of God's unconditional love, but teaches us how to love each other as He loves us.
The first part of this passage tells us that no matter how strong our faith, our beliefs, no matter how good our intentions or how great our abilities, without love, we have nothing and we can do nothing. If you take it out of the figurative language the Bible uses and transfer it to our lives, you get something like this:
Abbie went to church every week. She enjoyed being there, but most of all she enjoyed the music. It was the best part of the week, as far as she was concerned. She volunteered for the activities, she worked around town, she got good grades, and did everything she was expected to do. But when the pastor asked one Sunday "Are you happy with your life, or are you merely content? What about your relationship with God? Happy, or content?" She knew that the honest answer was that she was content with her life. She did what she was expected to, what she was supposed to. But she didn't enjoy doing it very much, she usually just went though the motions. It was a choice, but it wasn't one she was glad she had made. She didn't love what she did, she didn't love the results she gave. She didn't love the people she was working with and volunteering with. She was okay with them. And that gave her no pleasure, no joy in knowing that she had done well.
Annie could do everything in the world, anything she put her mind to, but without loving those around her and loving what she did, she got nowhere. Sometimes it can be hard to love people, hard to love what we do. Now look at the second part of that passage. The fourteen things listed about love. It is patient, kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Loving something doesn't necessarily mean enjoying it. Loving something in the worldly sense of the word does, but not the way the Bible is talking about it. To love someone, be patient and kind with them, no matter how you feel about them. Don't hold grudges, don't let your temper get the better of you.
Think of how easily we make bad habits. From biting our fingernails to cursing to procrastination. Those are easy to make and hard to break. The habit of loving someone or something in the Biblical sense of the word is a hard habit to make, but also a hard one to break.
The third part of this passage talks about how everything eventually fails. That is, everything but love. All worldly things will die, fail, or simply cease to exist. That isn't so with true Biblical love. The habit of truly loving someone is hard to break. Once we get into the habit of that, we will treat everyone this way, not wanting to be one to die, to not spend eternity with our Father. Romans 13:9* tells us that all the commandments can be summed up as "Love your neighbor as yourself"
The final verse of this passage carries a strong message. We were given faith, hope, and love. They are all three amazing qualities, but this tell us that, above all, love is important.
*Romans 13:9
9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."