When I was growing up, we had an active youth group in our church led by a dynamic youth director. He opened our eyes to the scripture, one of which was 1 Corinthians 13. 45 years later, you will find that the kids in that youth group are still actively following Christ. I lost track of this youth director for 40 years, until I stumbled on an article about his son. Apparently, his son grew up to be a powerful legislator in Missouri. However, the power went to his head and he was caught in an embarrassing escapade and lost everything; his job and his family. The story goes on to talk about how his father, my old youth director, instead of hiding in embarrassment, reached out to his son and led him back to his Christianity. This fallen representative now professes publicly his love for his Father God. It was the act of love and forgiveness of an earthly father that led him back to his Heavenly Father.
I remember when I first understood 1Corinthians 13, the love chapter in the Bible. It was life changing. It was the first time I realized that God the Father, Christ Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit had an attribute more important than any other. It was the most powerful characteristic that ruled all the others. It simplified things for the simple-minded yet it was as complex and far reaching as the universe. This was THE ONE THING.
Unfortunately, since then, familiarity has stolen the beauty of the love chapter. It has made it trite and something to be read only at weddings. The enemy seems to have done his best on this beautiful chapter in the Bible. If you have not read it in a while, read it as if it was the first time you have ever heard it. Think of all the times you have seen this hold true. Think of the loving father in the prodigal son parable that demonstrates this power of love so clearly.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8,13 NIV
[1] If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If 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 do not have love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. [4] Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. [8] Love 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. [13] And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
One thing I know about the life of Jesus was that he accomplished what he intended to do. I don’t believe he looked back and said “Oh, I wish I had done such and so." I believe his life was lived to make the biggest impact for all generations. And you don’t have to study the Gospels very long to know that Jesus battled against the Pharisees and Sadducees frequently. I also believe this was no accident, but a well planned move by the all-knowing Son of God. Why did he spend so much time pointing out the error of being a rule follower? Maybe it was because he knew something about sin and the pitfalls of humanity. Maybe because rule-following often serves as an antithesis for love. I believe he spent so much time addressing this sin because he knew the unparalleled power rule-following has to overtake our lives and turn our eyes away from God while looking to ourselves for our own salvation.
Jesus statement about the Law is this.
Matthew 5:17 NIV
[17] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
The definition of 'fulfilled' is 'satisfied or brought to completion'. The laws were fulfilled, satisfied, brought to completion, in Him.
Here is Paul’s take on life in Christ.
Galatians 2:19-20 NIV
[19] “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
It is no surprise that in the early church, rule-following was one of the first issues to rear its head in church debates. Originally, before Christ, one of the rules for being a faithful male Jew was to become circumcised. It was an act based on the law from Abraham and his sons. It continued on in the Hebrew nation from there. In New Testament times, Jewish Christians, who knew the scriptures well, believed that Gentiles must be circumcised to be a Christian. This was based on Jewish society norms and the laws in the Old Testament scriptures. Yet, as Paul pointed out, to do this as a requirement to be a Christian was wrong. He argued that God’s loving act of grace through the shedding of Jesus’ blood had replaced the rule-following pathway to God. The old way of following laws was gone and the new way was through belief in Christ.
Galatians 5:6 ESV[6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
This makes me wonder what church debates are still raging today due to applying biblical laws and society norms that no longer should govern us. You could take two sides of any church issue that is based on the law and cultural expectations and fill it into Galatians 5:6. For in Christ Jesus neither ______________ nor _____________ counts for anything, but only faith working through love. Forgive the silliness of this, but let’s try it out. For in Christ Jesus neither ‘singing from the hymnal with a pipe organ’ nor ‘singing from a monitor with a rock band’ counts for anything, but only faith working through love. See? Now it’s your turn. You try it. Pick two sides of any debated church issue. Faith working through love trumps it all!
The Bible has so many things to say about how we should act. Should we take them all at a simplistic face value or should love of God and fellow man be a governing hierarchy over it all? Following are the words of Jesus.
Matthew 22:34-40 ESV[34] But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. [36] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" [37] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
So the Law and the Prophets depend on loving God with all of your heart. That is the way my Bible reads. Living a life of love fulfills the law. I don’t believe this way of thinking is too complicated for us to practice because I have noticed that the people who practice this best are little children and those with special needs. They accept everyone as they are, no questions asked, no unfulfilled expectations, just loving acceptance.
Lord help me see the ways I miss this and help me to make choices that express my life through your love.
