The Greatest Of These Is Love

August 4

Nehemiah 6-7

Psalm 88:13-18

Proverbs 19:21-23

I Corinthians 13

The Greatest Of These Is Love

“But now abide faith, hope and love—these three;  but the greatest of these is love.”  I Corinthians 13:13 LSB

Paul follows his discussion about the Body of Christ in chapter 12 with a description in chapter 13 of love. Paul understood that functioning within a group of people can be difficult.  Because God created each of us with different interests, likes, dislikes, priorities and opinions, there will inevitably be conflict even among believers.  In order for everything to get done, it is essential that we each have different priorities.  We can’t all be focused on the same goals.  As I have stated before, my gift is administration.  In this role, I have the unique responsibility and privilege of working with a lot of different people.  I have to be able to organize different groups of people to carry out their section of the project in a way that complements and does not conflict with the other sections of the project.  In the secular world we can understand how that works.  If we have a large organization the CEO has to work with different departments to accomplish their mission.  They each think that the work of their department is the most important, needs the largest amount of resources and should get the most attention.  The CEO is responsible for determining the goals of the company and how each department fits in those priorities.  In a company, this is often boiled down to profitability.  In the Body of Christ, we have different priorities so we have to do things differently. 

I Corinthians 13 is often read at weddings and used when talking about romantic relationships.  While it can certainly apply to that, that really wasn’t Paul’s main focus.  He was talking about our relationships within the body of believers.  He was emphasizing that in dealing with others our overarching focus should be love.  Though exercising our gifts is important, if we do not exhibit love to others, then it is pointless.   He gives a wide variety of examples of things that we can do that profit us nothing if we do not have love.  Speaking in tongues, prophesying, having great knowledge, feeding the poor and even being willing to experience martyrdom is meaningless if we do not have love for others.  Each of those things seem good and important, but they are not as important as demonstrating love. Then he goes on to explain what love really is.  We have been conditioned to think that love is an emotion.  That is not what Paul is describing.  Emotions are fleeting, unreliable and can easily change with our circumstances.  Love is a purposeful decision demonstrated through actions.  It is patient, kind, selfless, and true.  It is not jealous, arrogant, boastful, or easily provoked.  It overlooks offenses, bears all things, hopes all things, believes all things and endures all things.  Love never fails.  Love acts maturely.  Paul is encouraging us to remember this as we interact with others and function in the body to accomplish God’s purposes in the world.  “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another.”  John 13:35 LSB