|
THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 1, NUMBER 14, MAY 6, 2001 LOVE
IS…. & LOVE DOES NOT…
The Sunday morning auditorium class has spent a great deal of time lately
talking about love as we have been studying the book of 1 John.
John’s teaching in chapter 4, verses 7 –21, has been described as
“a diamond turned round and round for different angles of light to flash on
it.” John writes of the source of
love, its greatest manifestation, its proof in the lives of Christians, and the
confidence it engenders. His
teaching is so profound that I don’t know that anyone could ever exhaust the
depth of its meaning. Each
statement reflects its brilliance in so many ways that it truly is like a
perfect diamond on display that all may examine it and marvel.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, provides us with another view of love, a view
that embraces the practical application of each of the principles that John sets
forth. Paul gives us
characteristics that will be manifested in the life of one who truly loves.
It is one thing to say “I have love”, it is another thing to live it.
In the midst of a discussion of miraculous spiritual gifts, Paul
interjects his teaching concerning “the more excellent way”, which is
love. He begins with hyperbole –
exaggeration for rhetorical effect, and wrote, “If I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels”. This
simply means the highest possible degree of “tongue-speaking” ability. Yet
if Paul exercised that gift without love, he was just making noise.
Paul wrote, “And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all
mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith…”
Once again he exaggerates for effect.
“Mysteries” refers to those secret thoughts and plans of God
that are hidden from human reason and that must be revealed.
It reminds me of Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the
Lord our God,…” No one knows
all of God’s thought, nor can we. Paul
is simply making the point that all of the miraculous spiritual gifts the
Corinthians placed so much emphasis upon were nothing if not under-girded with
love. Even acts of charity and courage that appear magnificent to the eye did
not benefit the one doing them at all if they were not
prompted by love.
What does characterize love and why is it so important?
Those are questions that Paul continued on and answered and we need to
know these answers. Our eternal
salvation depends upon love – God’s love for us, our love for God, and our
love for our fellow man. Let’s see
how we are doing.
“Love is patient”. Other
translations may have “longsuffering”. It
actually means to be long-tempered. We
speak of a person being short-tempered. This
is just the opposite. It is
self-restraint that is not hasty to retaliate.
It endures injuries and wrongs. What
better example of this attribute of love can there be than Jesus?
Peter wrote of the Lord in 1
Peter
Do you ever feel the need to retaliate in kind to insults, slights, or
injuries? I do.
I am working on it and I believe that I am getting better, but I am not
there yet. How about you? “Love is kind, and is not jealous.” The word for “kind”, actually means gentle. There is no room for harshness or roughness in love. It is not caustic or antagonistic. Do not misunderstand this point. Sometimes love demands firmness and being kind is not the same as being wimpy; but there is never a reason to be unkind.
To be jealous, as Paul uses it here, is to feel a dishonorable envy about
the good in others and to have that envy manifest itself in berating and
maligning the other person. Sometimes
folks will be jealous and because of that, try to belittle or tear the one they
are jealous of down. It can be done
publicly in front of a lot of people, or privately with snide remarks made
over the telephone or to just one or two people.
It is inexcusable.
“Love does not brag and is not arrogant.”
The emphasis here is on arrogance in speech.
It really is boasting that is meant to do others harm.
It is building myself up to tear someone else down.
Love does not allow for an inflated opinion of my own importance.
How can I be boastful and arrogant and try to build myself up at the
expense of others and claim to be a follower of Jesus?
Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:3 & 4?
He wrote, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than
himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for
the interests of others.”
“Love does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own.”
If I have love, I will not conduct myself in a way that is contrary to
what the Lord considers decent and proper. I
have a responsibility to the Lord to let my light shine in such a way that men
can see my good works, and in turn glorify God.
That is my responsibility. I
also have a responsibility to my fellow man to give them the very best example
possible. I am not going to be doing
that if I am behaving in an ungodly manner.
That would be the height of selfishness, of seeking my own.
If I have love, I will consider the cares and needs of others and conduct
myself accordingly. “Love is not provoked; does not take into account a wrong suffered.” The word “provoked” means “to be irritated or incensed”. Perhaps the best way to put it is that love does not go around looking for trouble. It does not “fly off the handle” every time something does not go its way.
Additionally, love does not allow for someone to keep a running record of
offenses committed against them with the idea that somewhere down the line they
are going to get even. As a matter
of fact, love does not allow for a person to even dwell on offenses committed
against them. We cannot claim to be
Christians if we hold a grudge. This
is another characteristic of love that I have to work hard at.
It is tough to lay aside hurtful things and to truly have in my heart the
desire for only the best to happen to those who hurt me.
But again, I need only to look to the example of my Lord to see that it
can be done. “Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.” The person with love finds no pleasure in sin. Such a person realizes that sin is an offense against God and is the reason why Jesus died on the cross. It is no reason for joy. It should cause sorrow.
Did you ever know someone who seemed to take delight in the failures of
others? Did you ever know someone
who always wanted to talk about sinful things that had taken place in the life
of someone else? Did you ever know
anyone who seemed to find personal vindication in the sins of others?
You know what I mean. Someone
who says, “I always knew they were going to do that”, or, “I’m not
surprised!” That is just about as
unloving as you can get. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” The person with love will be able to bear whatever trials and tribulations come their way. If I have love, I am going to believe the very best about others. I will not yield to unfounded suspicions and doubts. I will also give a brother the benefit of the doubt and believe the very best about him that I can until the evidence demands otherwise.
I am going to hope for the best in all situations, and if it doesn’t
always work out for the best, then I am going to be patient and steadfast in my
endurance. Love demands that it be
so. I am trying to improve and to get better at manifesting each of these traits in my life. How are you doing?
|