1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
The term “love” has to be one of the most overused words in all of the English language. We say it so often, in so many situations, that I’m afraid it may have lost its power to truly express or explain how we actually feel. It is not a casual word or inconsequential phrase. Uttering, “I love you” has impact. It cannot be taken lightly. It has power. But it’s power is too often used abusively. And that’s ashamed because, love is a many-splendored thing.
Perhaps one of the problems with the term is that the word attempts to cover several emotions at the same time. Those that study Greek have informed us that the Bible uses between four to eight different words to express love. But the term love we are studying this morning, in the Greek, is agape. It is considered the purist and highest form of love. The love of God.
As we further review our text, there is a very interesting note that we should focus on. The writer tells us in painstaking detail of the many things that love does, but never concludes what love is. That’s because it’s impossible to adequately describe. It’s impossible because God is love.
God is beyond human description. 1 John 4:8 blesses us with a glimpse of the true character of God...”He that does not love, does not know God, because God is love”. I know it’s poor form to describe a word with the same word, but that’s as close as we can get to describing God. He is the embodiment of all that is love. But though he loves us, I question do we “agape” him in return? Remember we use a bunch of emotions to connote what we call love.
Today we celebrate St. Valentines Day. We (husbands) are obliged to give gifts of candy, flowers, hearts and kisses. But in truth, these tokens of affection are hollow and meaningless if our hearts are not honestly in it. While people look at the outer appearance, God looks at the heart. And if our hearts are not right, the entire action is a farce. Our scripture this morning only applies to those with pure hearts and honest intentions.
But the giver of gifts is not the only one capable of hypocrisy. She (or he) that Is simply in the relationship for what they can attain is also guilty of abuse of love’s power. Anyone and everyone not subject to the selfless sacrifice contained in the act of loving, is guilty of misrepresenting the intent of the Lord’s testimony in our lives.
John proclaimed, God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son. This action validates God in every ensuing action. The fact that he so completely loves us, verifies his affection for us and establishes the foundation for our total trust and dependence on him, even when we don’t understand or agree with his actions.
Dear Child of God, loving the Lord is more than lip service. It’s more than receiving gifts. More than money, health, healing, comfort, joy and the pleasures of life. More than anything, loving God is about the power to receive him when evidence of his existence is totally missing...still knowing, love never fails.
God bless
