Love Is Not (Feb 7, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, we must embrace the language of love. We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or accurate theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. In this passage, in order to help us understand and apply the ways of love, not only does Paul define what love means, he also tells us what love is not.

The Photonegative Principle:
When you want to clearly describe/define something, it’s often helpful to both say what it is and what it isn’t. So after describing what love is, Paul tells us 7 things love is not. The first 5 things have to do with our relationship to ourselves, the last 2 with our relationship to others. The underlying principle here is that in order for our relationships with others to change, God must first change our relationship to our own selves.  To grow in loving others well (looking outward), God must deal with our relationship to self (looking inward). 

1. Where Love is Not
Last week, we saw how truth and love are necessary companions (v6). Here it is the opposite – wherever these 5 things are found, love is not there and in actuality cannot be there. Envy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, and self-seeking are all distortions of our relationship to self, and are never companions to love. Let’s take a quick look at each of these:

1. Love does not Envy – Envy is all about self-obsession; it is when I cannot rejoice over or acknowledge the achievements, gifts, or success that others have. All that I see is what I lack or want and that I do not have. When we are obsessed with our own situation, we can’t love others.

2. Love does not Boast – Boasting is all about self-promotion: “Am I being recognized and applauded here? Am I being seen? Do I have the attention?” When we are trying to be seen and noticed, we cannot love others; the needs, voice, feelings of others will be pushed aside in favor of the self.

3. Love is not Arrogant – Arrogance is self-inflation, sometimes translated as “love is not puffed up”. If we have a higher view of ourselves than we do of others, we can’t really love them. Our help/actions will be controlling, patronizing, self-serving – like the Pharisee heart that prays “Thank you God that I am not like that”. We can only truly love someone when we stop looking down at them.

4. Love is not Rude – Rudeness is self-absorption; the Greek word has to do with acting in a way that dishonors/ disrespects others. It is manifested when we are careless about what/how we say and do things, willingly or unwillingly failing to account for how it will be received by the other person.

5. Love is not Self-Seeking – This term is a little more difficult to translate, but ultimately boils down to seeking our own things, our own way, and can be seen as the source of all of the above. This is also at the core of what the Bible calls sin.

 It is important to keep in mind that it is not wrong seek things for ourselves, nor is it wrong to love ourselves, to want to have enough/be satisfied, to be seen/recognized, to be valued, to be important or be validated. But it is the essence of sin to seek them as our end goal and desire, as our own, rather than as a means to the end of loving God and loving others.

2. When Love is Not

Now let’s take a look from a slightly different perspective: when love is not in us, what do we see? Rarely will we be able to fully acknowledge our (insert here: envy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness) mentioned above.  Perhaps the best way to tell is by examining our relationships and interactions with others – where the symptoms can be revealed, and where the final 2 things in Paul’s list come in to play. These two things are directly related to our interactions with others, as opposed to our interactions with our own hearts. What are the symptoms and signs?

1. Irritability – this has been called the ‘launching pad’ for anger. It is to have your insides coiled, ready to spring into anger. When you are irritable – snapping, short, quick to be angry, eager to be offended – the problem is usually less about the other person’s words/actions and more about the lack of love in our own hearts.

2. Resentfulness/Keeping a record of wrongs – this is much like keeping score, about how ‘I’m doing so much!’, ‘After all I’ve done for you’, ‘What have you done for me?’ It is when we keep scorecards – for our friends, family, spouse, co-workers, church members, really anybody we interact with.

With resentfulness in particular, we often keep it inside (check for me, minus for you), but when the dam breaks it often flows out all at once. Especially when we do something good for another person and we receive rudeness or – perhaps even worse, no acknowledgement at all – the seeds of resentment are born. This can even happen within the context of our relationship with God; as someone once said, “We cannot feel gratitude for life as a gift when we feel cheated out of the life we are trying to earn”.

3. How Does Love Get into Where It is Not

The pull of self to seek our own things is powerful… Who can let go of the need to be satisfied with who/what we are, what we have, and to be affirmed, seen, and validated? Who can let go of the demand to seek our own things? Who can let go enough to genuinely love others expecting (and requiring) nothing in return from them?

 That’s a trick question – but here’s a better one: What has the power to deal w/ our envy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, self-seeking, heal our bitterness and sweep away all our record keeping? How can we experience genuine change and growth? Only one thing is powerful enough. Love. What’s the cure for a self-centered heart? The Bible says that it is God’s love for us in Christ. Only God’s love has the power to get love where it isn’t – into us.

 Irreligion will tell us “You need to love yourself more – (follow your heart, find your truth)”. Religion, on the other hand, will say, “You need to stop loving yourself so much! Don’t seek what you want; just do good, follow the rules and you will be rewarded!” But the Gospel says that Jesus loved you into being and gave himself for you in love. Thus, your life is not your own. Your salvation, your self, your things are not your own – it’s ALL undeserved grace.  This alone can fill the heart with love so that we let go of seeking our own things and seek the good of others and the glory of God. The gospel is the power for a whole new relationship to self; it is a power to love as we have been loved.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. Do you agree that we must feel deal with our relationship to self in order to relate to others in love? If so, why do you think this is?

3. Of the first 5 things Paul says love is not, which do you most identify with in your own relationship to self?

4. In a self-obsessed, individualistic culture there is a enormous pull toward self, toward seeking things as “our own” (contra the fifth thing that Paul says is at the root of a love-less life). How is seeking our own things the root of sin (ie the what’s beneath our sinful actions)?

5. How do bitterness and resentment show up in your life? How do they reveal a self-oriented heart? What impact do these things have on your ability to love?

6. In his book on this passage, Lewis Smedes wrote. “We cannot feel gratitude for life as a gift when we feel cheated out of the life we are trying to earn”. Does this strike a nerve with you? your relationship with God?

7. How does the message that we the love of God can be ours eternally and unconditionally through Christ get love into our self-oriented, seeking hearts? How does it give us the security, the importance, the validation, the satisfaction we seek in our envy, boasting, rudeness? How truly believing we are loved by God heal our bitterness and resentment toward others?

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Love Is Rejoicing in Truth (Jan 31, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, we must embrace the language of love. We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. Not only that, but Paul defines what love means, so we must seek to understand and apply the way of love in our everyday lives.

A Quick Reminder:
Although the focus of our current series – 1 Corinthians 13 – is often read at weddings or blithely printed in picture frames, these uses tend to overlook the practical (and actual) reason Paul wrote this beautiful poem.  This letter was written to a church that was trying to find its way through a mess of division, conflict, brokenness, immaturity and “outright sin”. 1 Corinthians 13:6 in particular is not part of some ethereal, fluffy inspirational poem. It is practical, real-life wisdom for messy, broken people and situations. This verse shows us the way of love for these situations and moments. How do we love people who are doing wrong, engaged in unrighteousness, or committing sin?

1. Love’s Constant Companion

In general, we tend to either be “love” people (tending toward a softer, accepting, affirming, approach), OR “truth” people (strong/firm opinions, a take-it-or-leave-it approach, no shades of gray). And sometimes we may lean differently depending on the context we are in (spouse, kids, work, church). Whatever the case, “love” people tend to see “truth” people as hard, harsh and self-righteous, while “truth” people see “love” people as soft, weak, and compromising.

 But Paul – who taught that love is the greatest of all virtues, the one eternal virtue, final measure of our Christian maturity, and the fulfillment of the whole law of God – teaches here that true, genuine love has a necessary and constant companion: truth. To be a Christian is to be a “truth” and “love” person. Paul says that love never avoids or compromises the truth – love rejoices in the truth!  BUT truth never moves forward without love – never acting or speaking for its own benefit, but out of a true concern for the well-being of the other. The catch is that we are not called to be 50% love and 50% truth – but rather 100% love AND 100% truth.

 2. Love’s Necessary Grief

Focusing on the first half of v.6 – “Love finds no joy in unrighteousness” – two key ideas are present: A) love never finds any joy, in wrongdoing, sin, unrighteousness in others; but also B) love is never indifferent to wrong, sin or unrighteousness in others.

A. Love never finds any joy in the unrighteousness of others – on the surface this sounds self-evident, but consider the eagerness in our culture, even amongst Christians, to call out the wrongs, faults and mistakes of others. Underneath this eagerness there is a kind of joy – but not love’s joy. Rather, it is the joy of moral superiority. When we have that kind of joy, it’s a clear indicator that we don’t have love. Love’s joy is to see people moving closer to who God has made them to be.

 B. Love is never indifferent to unrighteousness in others – in the earnest desire to avoid taking joy at others’ sin, should we simply support, accept or ignore everything that a person does? NO – Paul indicates that, rather than apathy, the opposite of finding joy in unrighteousness is to experience grief over unrighteousness in a person’s life. Genuine love is grieved over anything that keeps the truth out of someone’s life – evil, injustice, lies, self-deceit, hypocrisy, pretense – we are to grieve all these things. If we have the joy of superiority or the indifference to wrong, our response to other peoples’ issues will only cause harm.

3. Love’s Greatest Joy

There is no greater joy than to see another person live fully in the truth of who God is, who they are and who God has made/called them to be. The truth is what God says is good and right and is His vision/design for human flourishing. This is love’s greatest joy – to see someone we care about walking in this truth. It’s important we see that love does not rejoice in truth for truth’s sake – but for the sake of the other person’s well-being and flourishing. There is a big difference. When we take up a good, righteous cause or have a concern about someone’s choices/behavior, we need to ask: Am I doing it for their good? Or to be proved right? Truth is on the side of love and love is always about what is best for the other person.

So, how do we get and grow in this kind of love? It comes from the joy of receiving this kind of love from God. When we do not feel the joy of being loved by God, our treatment of others will lack either love or lack truth. Consider:

a) The gospel has the hardest truth of any belief system – that we are infected with sin in every part of us, we deserve judgment, and that we are unable to save ourselves. This is a hard truth, especially when other religions say that you can make yourself acceptable or righteous, if you just strive hard enough.

b) BUT the gospel also has the greatest love of any belief system – we are not loved because we do anything to earn or deserve it. We are loved 100%, without condition, with an everlasting love. We are loved with a love that knows us fully, in the fullest truth about us – yet accepts, receives and delights in us fully. This love has taken on our unrighteousness to make us righteous.

 God’s joy is to see us live fully in the truth of who He is, who we are and who He has made/called us to be.He does not take joy in our sin, but our sin and unrighteousness cannot stop or change his love for us. When the full truth and the full love of God hit us at the same time – we discover a joy that sets us free from self-righteousness and self-condemnation to love as we have been loved. 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. Do you tend to be a “love person” or a “truth person”? How does this reveal itself in your relationships?

2. Where do you most struggle see how we can be 100% truth and 100% love people? ]

3. How is it that we can find joy in the unrighteousness and sin we see in others? How do we see this at work in our divided culture? How have you seen this at work in your own heart?

4. If the opposite of joy is grief, what does it look like to be grieved by the unrighteousness we see in others? Make it personal – how can your own moral superiority or indifference be turned to grief in a sin/wrong you see in others? This could be a personal or cultural wrong/unrighteousness.

5. How does the gospel turn up God’s truth dial to 100%? How does it at the same time turn up God’s love dial to 100%? Which dial is usually turned up highest for you? [It may be helpful onsider what happens when we have God’s truth dial turned up louder than His love and vice versa.  

6. Consider the following applications – which do you most need to grow in?

• If we love the issue or cause more than the people affected by the wrong/unrighteousness… it’s not love.

• If we enjoy pointing out wrong, or if we are eager and quick to do so… it’s not love.

• If we rarely rejoice over the good in others (even our opponents)… it’s not love.

• If we are not able to see the truth about a person’s wrongdoing in the context of the greater, whole truth of the person (a person’s story, situation, suffering, etc)… it’s not love.

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Love Is Kind (Jan 24, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, where should we turn? We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. Love, according to the Bible, is the most excellent way.

The True Power of Kindness | If you were asked what the most powerful force in the world is, you would probably not respond “kindness.” If you are a Christian, you might even respond with something like truth, persuasion, sacrifice, or miracles. However, Paul makes a case for unmatched power of kindness. In 1 Corinthians 13:4 Paul coins a new verb (chresteuetai) from the noun form of kindness (chrestos). He did this to get the point across that kindness is not primarily a concept, an inward feeling, or a force out there, but “love in action.” We need to remember that Paul wrote this chapter as a rebuke to a divided church, and not as an abstract description of love. He was telling them that they were missing the unmatched power of love in action because they lacked kindness.

Last week we looked at love as patience, and this week we are considering love as kindness. Notice that patience and kindness are the only two positive descriptions (“love is…”) Paul attributes to love. Every other description is negative (love is not…). What Paul is saying is that patience and kindness are two sides of the same coin. Genuine love has both. Patience is the restraining side of love, while kindness is the active side of love. What’s remarkable is how Paul puts forward patience and kindness as having the power to heal and restore even the messiest and most difficult of situations and relationships.

1. The Strength of Kindness – To grasp the true strength of kindness first we need to clear up some misconceptions about what kindness is.

A. Kindness is Tenderhearted (not nice) – Kindness is not merely goodness done to another person, but goodness that comes from a tender heart (Eph 4:32). This means that kindness is the strength to let other people and their needs into our hearts. By contrast, consider niceness. We ought not completely denigrate being nice, but we ought to realize how easy it is to be nice while also remaining at a “safe” distance from others. It is actually quite easy to be nice and hard-hearted or closed off to others. Often, we are nice just to keep people from bothering us. Remember that the Bible never describes God as nice, but kind. Niceness doesn’t require much strength, but kindness requires the strength to let others’ needs, hurts and concerns into our hearts.

 B. Kindness is Gentle (not weak) – Kindness is not merely doing or saying the right thing, but gently doing or saying the right thing (Titus 3:2). Kindness does not take the weak or timid way of not speaking or acting when love requires. Rather, kindness takes the way of action. But it is action with caution knowing everyone is subject to the brokenness and difficulty in life as we are. Weakness takes the way of inaction. Action without kindness responds to disagreement and tension with anger, irritability, or rudeness. Kindness is the strength of gentle action. Kindness like this has the strength to turn away wrath (Prov. 15:1) and put out fires - even fires you did not create.

C. Kindness is Gracious (not courteous) – Being courteous is about giving people the respect they deserve, but kindness is about doing good to people even when they deserve otherwise. Of course, everyone possesses dignity by virtue of being made in God’s image. But we all know when some people don’t deserve our kindness! Perhaps you have clashed with someone and their irritability and rudeness prompted you to respond in kind. It takes great strength to move beyond being courteous to being graciously kind. But kindness like this has great power. In fact, it has been shown that the strongest predictor of marital strength and stability is kindness (see the work of marriage expert John Gottman). True strength is required to show grace towards those that have offended you and who don’t deserve your kindness – but kindness like this is what strengths and sustains relationships for a lifetime.

2. The Strength For Kindness – How do we get the strength for kindness like this?

A. Confronted – Romans 2:1-4 says there are two types of people in the world: those who despise God’s kindness, and those who recognize it and repent. We must first be confronted by God’s kindness to us to become kind ourselves. Despite our sin and lack of love, God has been tenderhearted, gentle and gracious to us beyond what we will ever know! It is God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance! The confrontation that leads us to genuine change and transformation is a confrontation with God’s kindness. At the cross we see 1) the judgment we deserve and 2) the kindness we’ve been give.  Christianity says how can someone who has been confronted by the kindness of God, tell anyone else that they are unworthy of our own kindness?! 

B. Compelled – Because of God’s kindness to us, we are compelled to be kind to others. The compelling nature of Christianity is not in commands, strictness, or guilt, but the person of Jesus Christ. He is kindness in action! We need not ask what is love, as if just need a clearer definition - but who is love. Though we were once lost, disobedient, and enslaved by sin (Titus 3:3-4) Jesus became love in action, love in person for us. Only those of us that have truly experienced the kindness of God to us in Christ – at our worst - will be strong enough to be truly kind to others – even at their worst. Let us go into the world with a new awareness of the power for kindness that we have in Christ. Love is patient, love is kind… what about you? . 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. How is Paul’s teaching about kindness and love in 13 relevant to you? Are you challenged or convicted?

2. Have you ever considered patience and kindness as the most powerful characteristics of a Christian? What other characteristics have you considered important in your life (truth, sacrifice, prayer)? How would these all work together?

3. Consider the Greek word for kindness “chrestos” and how Paul coins the verb form “chresteuetai” to communicate the kindness is love in action. What does this say about biblical kindness? Is this how you have traditionally understood kindness? 

4. Can you think of a time recently in which you were nice but not tenderhearted? How does this connect with your overall view of vulnerability in relationships?

5. Read Proverbs 15:1. What is the connection between gentleness and turning away wrath? Do you have a story when you have done this successfully?

6. Marriage expert John Gottman mentions a difference between “masters” and “disasters.” Masters scan people for things they can appreciate and be thankful for, while disasters scan for people’s mistakes and what needs to be criticized. Do you agree with his assessment or not? How does this relate to biblical kindness?

7. Read Romans 2:1-4. What does it mean that God’s kindness leads us to repentance? Where do you most need God’s kindness? What does that say about how we should treat other? How do we do this without being regarded as passive or weak?

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Love Is Patient (Jan 17, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: In many ways we have started this year as confused, divided, and unsettled as we ended last year. As we look to the future as a church, people, and country, we must embrace the language of love. We might think we live in a peculiar time of division and despair, but in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us. Not only that, but Paul defines what love means, so we must seek to understand and apply the way of love in our everyday lives.

Where Do We Start?

In our culture, love is probably the most agreed upon concept but the most poorly defined. We all know we need love in our lives, but we don’t know exactly what we are asking for. One way to think about this is to consider how you would respond if asked to define what love is. What immediately comes to our minds might not agree, but Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 by describing love as patience. For us in 2021, patience is a virtue… of the past. Technology, information, and other forms of instantaneity are almost always within our reach. We bicker and fret when we have to wait in line, lose Wi-Fi connection, or when Amazon delays our package by even one day. We can all pinpoint times when our impatience has interfered with our love for others. It happens in public, among friends or colleagues, and even in our own family homes. The truth is, we need to start with patience now more than ever, and this will help us grow in love. But that is not the end of the matter. What makes Paul’s message relevant for us is not merely our incessant impatience as much as God’s steadfast patience in His love for us.

1. Our Patience and God’s Place

Patience is the first thing Paul says about love because in order to truly love people, we must first understand our own place in the world and in the lives of others. When we let God have His sovereign place in the world, it helps us realize our humble place in the world. This is essential because when we react in impatience, we immediately cross the line into God’s territory. What we are saying when we become impatient and angry is “I know how this should go.” But as limited humans, we do not and cannot claim God’s agenda for our own lives or in the lives of others. Love is patient because no fallen, broken, limited human can love another fallen, broken, limited human while assuming God’s place in their lives. Simply put, we are not God, so we must resign our place to try and frantically fix everything and everyone. What we will come to realize is that when we become patient, we become free to love.

2. Our Patience and God’s Pace

Patience is not only accepting God’s place for the people and circumstances in our lives, but also God’s pace in carrying out His plans. The word for patience in Greek here is translated “makrothumeo” which can be derived further from “macro” (long) and “thumos” (passion, heat, anger). The old KJV translates it as “long-suffering,” which is quite accurate. What we can see is that patience is not about letting go of what we feel is right or true, but the pace at which we expect these things to occur. Patience is able to take the long (macro) view because it considers God from beginning to end. On the other hand, impatience is a sign that we are more concerned with our own timetable. The call to love does not always follow our own pace. Instead, we look to God and trust that he is at work for His glory and our good. 

3. Patience and God’s Promise

At this point it would be helpful to guard against a common confusion. There is a counterfeit view of patience that correlates with apathy or indifference. We return to one of the Greek derivatives of patience, “thumos” (passion, heat, anger), as it can help us greatly here. Patience does not mean that we sit back passively because patience affirms our good passions. Good passions are ones that align with God’s passions. This is not an easy or guaranteed process because in patience, we must actively seek to align ourselves with God’s passions and relinquish our selfish passions. Consider a passion for political involvement, or relational intimacy. These can hardly be considered bad in themselves, but they become quite bad if they devolve into harming or manipulating others. We must actively kill selfish passions and aim for God’s passions. In this process, God challenges us not to overlook His own promise that things will not be complete, finished, or perfected in this life. 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us that “the Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” So we see that in patience, God is not calling us to renounce our passions, but to place them in the context of His place, His pace and His promise.

4. Our Patience and God’s Patience

By this point you might be convicted. That is okay. The power of patience comes from knowing how patient God is with us. Two primary ways that God displays His patience toward us is in kindness that brings us to repentance (Rom 2:4), and forbearance in passing over our sins (Rom 3:25-26). We cannot look at salvation in Christ, or our sanctification, guided by the Spirit, without marveling at the patience of God. We grow in patience toward others as we recognize the painfully slow pace and incompleteness of our own spiritual growth. Even if we are passionate, we cannot discount patience. In fact, all impatience find its root in forgetting or denying God’s patience with us. Consider our Savior Jesus. He lived a life as the very essence of love, yet He did not react impatiently to those who mocked, beat, and spat upon Him. Not only that, but He was crucified because of God’s patience toward us, sinners. Friends, let us observe our impatience and turn back to God. Let’s not turn away from so great a salvation and together we can strive to grow in patient love under the care of our patient and loving God.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. How is Paul’s relation of patience and love in 1 Corinthians 13 relevant to you? Are you challenged or convicted?

2. In what ways have you ever passed a clear “No Trespassing Sign” into God’s territory in your own impatience? How do you discern the difference between God’s place and your place?

3. Consider the Greek word for patience “makrothumeo” and the derivatives “macro” (long) and “thumos” (passion, heat, anger). Does this change or help you understand biblical patience more?

4. Read Ecclesiastes 7:8 and James 1:19-20. What do these passages tell you about God’s pace and our pace when it comes to displaying love through patience?

5. In what ways are we tempted to be passive in our patience? What does it mean to be active in aligning with God’s passions and relinquishing our own?

6. How does God’s patience toward you motivate you to be more patient? Do you resonate with a certain element of His patience toward you (i.e. kindness, forbearance, justification)?

7. Read Proverbs 16:32. What does this tell you about the power of patience in a time when many see political power as what is to be pursued and desired?

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Love Is... The Most Excellent Way (Jan 10, 2021)

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Introduction: As we started a new year, it was tempting to hope that everything might be better with a clean slate and a fresh start. But with the ongoing surge of COVID and the disturbing events in our nations capital to start the year, those hopes are dashed. We start the year as confused, divided and unsettled as we ended. In 1 Corinthians, Paul spoke to a church in a similar situation. The Corinthians were not only divided by who they followed, but also about what they emphasized. What we can learn from Paul is that it is easy to lose sight of what can guide us through our differences. We might have good intentions or concerned theology, but when we don’t have love, we miss out on everything that God intends for us.

1. Looking for a Way

If 2020 was a year known for anything, it was known for unexpected events, tension, and hardship. Everyone questioned their own way, the way of our country, or the way of the future. 2020 brought every Christian to a confusing crossroads of division and difficulty. As the new year begins, we are likely considering where we ought to go from here. How can we find our way among the many voices in media, technology, and even our own minds? Paul speaks directly to a church caught up in division and confusion in 1 Corinthians 13. It is one of the most beautiful passages ever written in the Scriptures. Paul wrote this passage give Christians clarity on the best way forward in any and all circumstances. In confusing and troubling times, sometimes what we most need is a direct and clear word to break through the fog and point us to the way forward. I Corinthians 13 is just this word

2. The Wrong Way

Before we consider the right way, Paul informs us clearly of the wrong way in verses 1-3. Anything minus love is the wrong way. That is to say, if we act without love, it is not just a lesser or more inferior way, it is a “nothing” way. For the Corinthians, this would have been a very shocking message because the practices that Paul compares to a loving way in this passage are all things they would have considered very good in themselves and the things that had the most power to make a difference. Speaking with eloquence, gifts of prophecy, faith that moves mountains, and acts of great self-sacrifice were powerful ways to make a difference or evidence of mature spirituality. Today, that might translate to a concern for sound doctrine, participation in church programs, or generous donations. Yet, Paul indicates that the power of even the greatest spiritual acts is undone without love. This church had surely heard Paul teach them about love but when it came to solving their problems and finding a way out of them – they looked first to all the ways their culture had taught them. Corinthian culture prized all the things Paul said were nothing without love. Paul’s beautiful poem was a sharp rebuke to a divided and compromised church. They were going the wrong way. When they left love out – no matter what else they did – they were leaving the way of Jesus. If they continued to travel on this wrong way, it would only bring further confusion, division and harm to themselves and others.

3. The Most Excellent Way

The most excellent way is the way of love. The New Testament is replete with examples of love, and admonitions to love God, our neighbors, and even our enemies! If we consider our own spiritual growth, we might point to indicators such as the time spent reading our Bible or praying for others. We might think about our moral behavior, or how we serve others. But the main measure and the true power for good in our lives is not knowing everything, not understanding everything, not to achieving something great, not doing miraculous things, or even risking it all. The greatest power for good in this world is the love—the kind of love described here. Our main job on this planet is to love. We must learn more about what it is, prioritize it, and bring it into all that we do. 

It is no surprise that if we attempt to read our name into this passage that we would not be able to read it for very long with integrity. The only name that fits is Jesus. This should not discourage us because if we can love like this at all it is only because Christ first loved us. This beautiful love poem is a description of how the love God has for us in Christ. A Christian is someone realizes that the greatest and most powerful word anyone could speak, the greatest miracle, the greatest act of sacrifice is not anything we can say or do but what has already been done and said to us in Christ. We are fully known (v12) in all our failures to love and yet fully loved. Eternity will undeniably reveal to us – the greatest and most powerful thing in the universe is the love of God for sinners. Paul writes elsewhere that “God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8). Loving like this is not natural for us, it is supernatural. The way of Jesus is to “keep ourselves in the love of God” we have in Christ (Jude 21) and continually practice it toward others. Love is the way, the most excellent way, for the Christian. As a popular character, the Mandalorian, would say: “This is the way.” 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What part of the message most resonates with you? Why? What questions did it raise?

2. How did 2020 challenge you or cause you to consider your own way in life? How did the confusion and division of 2020 (and now 2021) affect you?

3. How do you tend to fill in the blank , “If we really want to make a difference, we need more

   _______________________” with something other than love? (OR to put it another way – In a world of confusion and division, where are you most tempted follow our cultural (American) way instead of the way of love in Christ?)

4. What are some examples of spiritual actions or attitudes that can be done without love? Have you ever fallen into this pattern before?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. If you were to replace “love” with your own name, would you be able to read the passage faithfully? Which description of love challenges you the most?

6. If we are convinced that we are fully known and fully loved by God in Christ – even in our sin and brokenness – how might this enable us to have the power to love the way Paul describes in this chapter?

7. Consider this challenge for 2021 – To resolve to make love your first priority and pursuit. What area of your life or relationship(s) first comes to mind as the place God is calling to renew your commitment to the most excellent way of love?

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