Love. A more excellent way.

Just a piece of a devotional I recently gave about Love. Happy Valentines Day.

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is mostly corrective, written to a bunch of infighting, competitive, backbiting Christians. I am glad, because I keep meeting groups like this today. Nice to have relevant scripture in those contexts. I have imagined that the title of the book should ideally be "When you come together..." as in: when you come together, stop fighting, don't be proud, avoid offense, don't deny anyone's gift... etc.

It seems like this last thing was a big deal. Spritiual gifts and who was allowed to use them, and how much time was given to practicing different ones. Basically, Paul responds with a big "be free" statement. Bring your prophecy, bring your hymn, bring your encouragement, be ready to give. All of you. The point, he says, is that these things that God has blessed us with are all for the purpose of touching someone else's life. That strips away the clamour and wrong desires. Tongues, prophecy, whatever..., if God has blessed me with it, then it's value exists when someone else's life is blessed and touched by it, not by what it does for me!

So, how do we get there? The secret is in 1 Corinthians 13. LOVE. Wouldn't it be great if the motivation of all of our doing was always out of the idea that we just so jealously desire the good of others over our own needs and desires? And it must be. Otherwise my tongues are a noisy gong, my prophecy is a clanging cymbal. Or worse.... nothing.

Love. It sounds easy. Yeah. Think of that fellow Christian who rubs you the wrong way. Got their face in your mind? OK. Ready? Let's go. Now repeat after me.

For the sake of (their name) I choose love. I will be patient and kind. I won't envy what God is doing in their life. I won't act boastfully or arrogant or rude toward them. I won't insist on my own way. I will not be irritable or resentful. I won't rejoice if they do wrong or if something wrong happens to them. I will stand for truth in their life. I will bear all things that are part of my relationship with them. I will believe God for all things good for them. I will hope that their life goes well and that they have success and grow in Jesus, and no matter what, I will endure all things for their sake. And I will do it always, because love isn't a project and neither are they.

I don't always know what that looks like. But then I don't know a lot of things. I only know some things, but there is a day coming when perfection will be real, and all this partial guessing will disappear. So, I choose to set aside my petty, competitive, selfish childish ways, reaching toward perfection in Christ, when I will know fully like he knows me.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.  

Out of love.