Love, the Motivation of Our Lives
First Corinthians Chapter 13:1-13
The Passion Translation
If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal. And if I were to have the gift of prophecy with a profound understanding of God’s hidden secrets, and if I possessed unending supernatural knowledge, and if I had the greatest gift of faith that could move mountains, but have never learned to love, then I am nothing. And if I were to be so generous as to give away everything I owned to feed the poor, and to offer my body to be burned as a martyr, without the pure motive of love, I would gain nothing of value. Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
.Perfect Love
Love never stops loving. It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten. Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial, but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away. When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways. For now we see but a faint reflection of riddles and mysteries as though reflected in a mirror, but one day we will see face-to-face. My understanding is incomplete now, but one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood. Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.
In our everyday life we rush thru and often don’t have a heart reflection of our relationship skills. Our fast paced life blurs the finite details of loving ourselves, family, and neighbors. The passage above points to a heart check for loving.
When Paul wrote this, he was writing to the people of Corinth, who were very diverse yet had many pagan beliefs. There were many factions and obstacles towards the Good News of the Gospel. Paul was addressing the outcome of their spiritual immaturity in the form of divisiveness, lawsuits, selfishness, immorality, abuses in liturgy and spiritual gifts. The Corinthians were in danger of possible denial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Today’s culture reflects many of the same things. Love is always the answer to living in peace and growing into the full stature of Jesus. We should strive to love. It is the glue that keeps everything together. Be Love!
Hardwired for Life 
You must be logged in to post a comment.