The Greatest of These

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

"Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love" (vs8, 13).

"She doesn't love me anymore. He doesn't love her anymore. I love hot dogs. I love that car. I love BBQ chicken." Today, like in the Corinthian church, folks were very confused about love - the nature of love and what love really means. This one really gets me, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Wow - actually, it is just the opposite, it is very important to say we are sorry for hurting, offending, falling short of loving those that are in our family, the family of God, and our friends.

Our society, our culture, and in the church at large - we don't really know what love is. The tendency is to use the word love for infatuation, lust, hormonal feelings, and the appetite of our eyes and our taste buds. That is why we can say, "I don't love you anymore; I use to love you, the 'feeling' is gone...." That is why we can say we love food - because it tastes good. Or we love a Porsche because it looks good, or we can say we don't love a spouse anymore, because the romantic feelings that begin a relationship are gone.

As we read 1 Corinthians 13, we discover quickly that none of those above understandings of love are the real deal. For marriage, God certainly has given us what we need to be attracted to a potential husband or wife, and those feelings can be roused throughout marriage (and should be) but those feelings aren't the foundation of love.

Love is patient, it is kind, seeks the other's best, isn't rude....love never fails. Love is an action word. It is a verb, not a noun. It is God given (God is Love 1 John 4:8, Romans 5:5)) and Jesus procured (John 15:13) and Holy Spirit maintained (Galatians 5:22,23). This is why Love never fails. Love has its origins in God, is given to us through Jesus and helps us to pass it on to others through the Holy Spirit. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God has always been, is, and willl always be. It is out of Love that we even exist - that we were created. It is out of Love that Jesus died, to set us free so that we could blossom into the people God created us to be and we have been given the Holy Spirit in Whom and through Whom we live on this now and forever in eternity.

So, all the gifts, including those described in 1 Corinthians 13 will pass away, as this known earth passes away, but Love will last forever. We experience love through the gift of Faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8), we receive Hope through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) and because of these two, Faith and Hope, we can Love.

"Lord, forgive me (us) for the ways we have defined love. Forgive me (us) Lord for taking on the surrounding culture's definition of love. Thank You for making a way for me (us) to be loved, receive love, and give love. Help me (us) to receive more and more of Your Love so that I (we) in turn can love the way You love. And it will last forever. Thank You Lord."