Pastor Le'roy Colston |
Love in ActionI Corinthians 13:1-7
The most comprehensive description of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7. Paul explains to us the practical side of "agape" love. That is the love that God shows to us. It is a love that is shown in how it responds to life's challenges and mor importantly how we live our lives dat by day. The passage does not focus so much upon what love is, but upon what love does and does not do.
The context of the passage is explaining the misuse and misunderstanding of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are those talents and abilities that God gives a believer to carry out his will in their lives. Anytime you have an ability or talent and use it ther is the possibility of its misuse. There is possibility of having experiencing pride and doing good things for the wrong motives. God is not so much interested in what we do, but why we do it. It deals with our service for the Lord and examines our motives for why we serve. It shines the light of truth on what we outwardly do...to see if it is a work of the flesh or of God. Do we serve to be seen of men or to serve the Lord. it what we do to be seen of men or to honor our Savior by being a testimony to righteousness. Agape love is active, not abstract or passive. It does not simply "feel patient." It is patient! It practices patience. It does not simply have kind feelings. It does kind things. Love is fully love only when it acts! This passage removes all hypocrisy...it exposes each of us to the most stringent possible going to one's very heart and exposing what is really there. Each of us are master's at hiding what is in the deepest recesses of our hearts...from each other. But we cannot hide these things from our omniscience God. Here through his words he opens the doors so we can see ourselves as we truly are. Scripture tells us, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). The purpose 1 Corinthians 13 is not to give a "technical analysis" of love, but to break it down into "bite size" pieces so that we may more easily understand it and apply it in a practical way. Thus, our goal should be to demonstrate this kind of love one to another. It tells us clearly that where these attributes and motives are...there is also the true love of God. Sadly, the opposite is also true. This passage is God's wake up call to those who find themselves lacking. It is God reaching out to us to change our lives and make us truly what he has purposed for us to be. |