Love Never Fails, But We Sure Do

 

In Part One of this series on love we looked at love in general, and then more specifically who we’re supposed to love. In this second part I wanted to take the time to look at how we’re supposed to love. The best way to do this is to go to the place in the Bible that is read most when you’re talking about love. It’s the part of the Bible that’s read at almost every wedding. It’s 1 Corinthians 13. We’ll be looking specifically at 1 Cor 13:4-7.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

While we often hear these verses at weddings, it should be noted that the word translated as ‘love’ here is agape and not eros. This is the kind of love that we’re supposed to be showing to everyone around us, not just our husband or wife. The next verse, right after we read that love endures all things, starts out by telling us that…

Love. Never. Fails.

… So we need to realize that if we don’t see the words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 applying to us and our treatment of those around us, it’s not love that’s failing, it’s us.

Using this passage as a measuring rod against how the Evangelical Church is doing right now is heart breaking. My heart is breaking for the people of the LORD. My heart is breaking because we’re not being who we’re supposed to be. My heart is breaking because we’re shocked that the world isn’t being drawn to our light, without realizing that we’ve turned the dimmer down so low that they can’t even see it. Hide it under bushel? Yep. My heart is breaking because I love my King and He misses His children.

Love suffers long and is kind I see a people who are offended at the mere thought of suffering, and they need to get their reward immediately. They are not long-suffering. I see a people who are barbarous in their malignity. They are not kind.

Love does not envy I see a people who look at those around them and can’t stand if they don’t have everything their neighbors have. They are full of envy.

Love does not parade itself I see a people who need to be the first in line and beat their chest to let you know that they are supposed to be at the head of the table. They parade around, showing off their superiority.

Is not puffed up I see a people who are not able to be in second place; they have turned their election into a thing to lord over those around them, and they are at risk of losing it. They are the definition of puffed up.

Does not behave rudely I see a people who can’t help but seek to cut you down and call you names if you disagree with them. They are the rudest of the rude.

Does not seek its own I see a people who are so offended at the thought of ‘suffering’ that they run away from all of the people who disagree with them and sit in the stew of their own hatred all by themselves, with only those who agree with them around them. They seek their own and won’t suffer anyone else.

Is not provoked I see a people who are aroused to anger at even the thought that someone disagrees with them. They are the most easily provoked people I see.

Thinks no evil I see a people who focus on the malice all around them, and plan their actions based on the evil they see. They think about evil before they think about good, and their actions are solely based on all of the evil they see.

Does not rejoice in iniquity I see a people who make light of the sinful ways of their leaders, while being sure to tell you how full of sin their opponents are. They rejoice in the iniquity of others, while making excuses for the iniquity of their own.

Rejoices in the truth I see a people who love to twist facts in order to make their points. It doesn’t matter so much to them that their ‘facts’ are right, so long as there’s a scent of truth to them, and it helps them win an argument. They do not rejoice in the truth, unless it’s a truth that helps them.

Bears all things I see a people who positively can’t endure anything in their life which they don’t agree with, and they’ll let you know all about it, all the time. They are unable to bear anything uncomfortable.

Believes all things I see a people who look for conspiracies at every turn and won’t be bothered with hearing how there could be a different way of looking at it. They would rather seek out reasons to not believe before even testing with Scripture.

Hopes all things I see a people who doesn’t have a hope that good things can come out of things they disagree with, as if God isn’t powerful enough to work all things for good. They are tragically hopeless and have no faith in God’s power.

Endures all things I see a people whose roots are so flimsy that the slightest breeze blows them over. This people cannot, and will not, endure real persecution, should they ever see it.

People of God, we need to be willing to repent of our unloving ways. We have left our first love and it’s obvious to the world around us. They want nothing to do with our King because of the way that we’re representing Him. So often, in the Christian community, I hear, “if you’re being persecuted then you must be doing something right.” Well, while it’s true that we should be willing to enter into persecution for the sake of our allegiance to the King, sometimes we’re not being persecuted so much as mocked, and we’re mocked because of our poor representation of our King, not because we’re doing something right.

My heart is breaking.

My heart is breaking because His heart is breaking.

Return to your first love. Find the Jesus who shattered the chains in your life. Yes, be zealous for righteousness, but do it like Jesus. The only people He ever showed a temper to were the supposed religious, not the sick and hurting. Right now, we are acting like the Pharisees whom he called hypocrites and vipers.

Remember the Jesus who saved you. Remember the Jesus who loved you when you were unlovable. Remember the Jesus who reached out to you and brought you into the fold when you didn’t even know you were lost. Remember that Jesus, and model yourself after Him.

Love. Never. Fails.

What Is Love?

This is going to be a two-parter. The first part is going to be a lot more like what I usually write. The second part is going to be a lot more difficult, and I’ve had to pray about whether or not I should even post it, but so far, the answer I’ve gotten is, post it. So, enjoy this first part, and, well, I ask that you read the second part, too.

There are few things more important in life than love. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean a romantic sort of love, though this definitely can be an important part of your life. The intent of this post isn’t to get into the different meanings of the different forms of love in the Greek, but it’s important to understand that there are three different kinds of love in the Greek language: Agape; Eros; and Philos. That romantic love is, as can probably be guessed, eros. Philos is the love you have for your brother. Maybe the easiest way to keep this straight is being thinking about the city of Philadelphia. Philos, as we’ve said, is one of the words used in Greek for ‘love’. Adelphos is the Greek word for brotherly. This is why Philadelphia is sometimes called the city of brotherly love. Agape is the kind of benevolent love that God has for us.

The first time love is mentioned in the bible is in chapter 22 of Genesis, when God is telling to Abraham to take his son “who he loves” to be sacrificed. There’s a different rabbit trail which could be gone down which deals with how Abraham’s willingness to give up his own son, even though he had great love for him, is pointing toward that John 3:16 moment where, because of His great love for the world He created, He was willing to give up His own Son in order that the world might be saved. In fact, I think it should be pointed out that when we think about John 3:16 we don’t often put Abraham in the mix. We think of God as an impersonal being who just did what He had to do and we forget that Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac was meant to show us a piece of the story of in the life of Jesus, as well. As much as we can imagine it was difficult and painful for Abraham, it’s worth imagining that God felt that, too. In fact, when the Septuagint – which is the Greek version of the Old Testament which was completed more than 200 years before the time of Jesus, and is the version of the Hebrew Scriptures that the Apostolic Fathers used when quoting the Old Testament in the books of the New Testament – records the account of Abraham and Isaac, it uses the word agape, and not one of the other forms of love.

Why, then, is it important to know the differences between these different loves?

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

If, as disciples of our Lord, Jesus, the world around us is supposed to be able to tell that we are disciples of His by the love we show for one another, it’s probably important to know which kind of love it is that we’re supposed to be showing. You’ve probably already guessed that the word for love used in this verse isn’t eros, though that would make for a much more absurdly funny (and hedonistic) Christianity. So the question is, are we supposed to be known by our philos for one another, or our agape for one another? Are we supposed to be known for our brotherly love, or for our self-sacrificing, godly love? I could just tell you, or you could just look it up real quick, but I want to point out something else Jesus said a few minutes after He told his disciples that they will be known by their love for one another. In John 15:12-13 Jesus says,

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.

This probably makes it pretty obvious but the kind of love we’re supposed to be known by is our agape for one another. So, the next obvious question would have to be, who is ‘one another’? Are we just talking about other Christians, or are talking about everyone?

I want to start out by saying that even if we’re talking about just the Christians, this is not an easy task. There are Christians who are doing terrible things, some of them even (erroneously) doing terrible things in the name of the Lord. So even if this command from Jesus just means that we need to love our fellow Christians so much that those in the world around can see that we’re different because of the love that we’re showing for them, this is not going to be an easy commandment to follow. But… what if it’s the other one? What if, when Jesus says that we’re supposed to be able to be known as His disciples by the way we show love, He means to everyone?

When, in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus was approached by a man who was an expert in the Torah and asked how one inherits eternal life, He responded by asking this expert in the law what the law has to say about it. When this man answered by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 (love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself) Jesus said that the man was correct. In this we can see that, to love the LORD is to love your neighbor, because all people were created as image bearers of the LORD. Here’s the part that I think is pertinent to what we’re talking about, when the expert in the law heard Jesus agree with him, he automatically tried to limit who would be considered his ‘neighbor’ so Jesus, seeing what he was doing, told the parable of the Good Samaritan, where He makes it abundantly clear that all people, even the person you hate, is your neighbor.

When we question whether we’re supposed to be known by our love to everyone, and attempt to argue that we’re only supposed to be known by our love for other believers, we’re doing the same thing the expert in the law did when he questioned who his neighbor was. And Jesus has an answer for that (Luke 10:30-37).

This is why, when I read the command of Jesus to love one another in order to be known as one of His disciples, I read it to mean that we’re supposed to love everyone, and not just other Christians. I’ll not be the one potentially putting a muzzle on the love we’re supposed to show our neighbor. I don’t want anyone to be able to question whether I’m a disciple of King Jesus. If I want to shout from the rooftops that I am a disciple of King Jesus, He says that we do that by loving those around us. Sure, post it on your Facebook wall, but that’s not the command of Jesus; the command of Jesus is to self-sacrificially love those around you, even unto death.

In the second part of this series I will look at what love really is, and how we’re failing miserably at it.

Click here to read Part Two.

A Sign of the Times

 

The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men. Proverbs 24:9 (NASB)

First of all, what is a scoffer? It doesn’t sound like a good thing, right? We’re told that the person who is a scoffer is an abomination to everyone. The dictionary definition of ‘to scoff’ is “to speak derisively; mock; jeer”. I’ll be honest, when I look at the world around me (and even myself, more often than I’d like to admit) we have built a pedestal for those with an exceptional ability to mock and jeer, and we celebrate their derisive scoffing.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Psalms 1:1 (ESV)

How many people do you follow on social media who are celebrated because of their ability to scoff? How many people on social media do you follow just because they are so adept at ridiculing the people you disagree with? We can, and must, take this rebuke. Don’t let yourself become the object of these Bible verses, regardless of how celebrated this has become in the world around us.

A wise son heeds his father's instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. Proverbs 13:1 (NKJV)

Right now, in this political climate, are you a scoffer? When you see someone say something you disagree with, are you tempted to mock them with a prepackaged party line that doesn’t further the conversation at all? Are you more than tempted, and you actually saying that derisive and dismissive statement? Are you allowing yourself to be a scoffer?

“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. Proverbs 21:24 (ESV)

Do you see someone else scoffing and you feel the need to correct them?

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Proverbs 9:7 (ESV)

What is that urge that we feel to correct the person we can tell really doesn’t care about being corrected?

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Proverbs 9:8 (ESV)

If we’re honest, when we choose to correct someone whom we view as being a scoffer, we usually become a scoffer right along with them. The way of Jesus is not the way of the scoffer. The fruit of the scoffer is the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit brings wisdom and wisdom is consistently juxtaposed with the scoffer in the book of Proverbs. Do you have wisdom?

Or, are you lumped in with the scoffer?

How long will you naïve ones love simplicity, you scoffers delight in scoffing, and you fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 1:22 (TLV)

All of America is following after scoffers, and we’re delighting in the things our scoffers are saying to our opponent’s scoffers. Take this warning and rid yourself of the scoffer. I’m not wise. The only wisdom I have comes from the Spirit and the Word of God.

A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise Proverbs 15:12 (ESV)

We war and we rage against our neighbors because we have differing views. We have no brotherly love for our neighbor because they see a different way forward.

Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath. Proverbs 29:8 (ESV)

Don’t allow yourself to even entertain the mockery of the scoffer or your peace will be ruined. Your peace will be lost, not because of the scoffer, but because of your own inability to control yourself.

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet Proverbs 29:9

Do you have any scoffers in your life? How many people in your life can you think of who will not accept rebuke and will mock the one who is attempting to counsel them? Do you know anyone who scorns the advice of those who have been placed around them to give them good counsel? Do you follow anyone on social media who respond to everything with mockery? Do you support any political candidates who deride their opponents and mock them? As a person, rid yourself of the influence of scoffers. As a country, rid yourself of the influence of scoffers.

Throw out a scoffer and strife will go out, quarreling and disgrace will cease. Proverbs 22:10 (TLV)

If you think I'm talking about your political candidate, I am. If you think I'm talking about your opponent's political candidate, I'm talking about yours, too.

For a good discussion of this topic please head on over to the And Campaign and give this episode of their podcast a listen.