1 Corinthians 13:1-13 -- “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
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These verses from 1 Corinthians are some of the best known in all of the Bible. Rarely is there a wedding ceremony where these words are not read. I’m sure anyone reading this today is very familiar with Paul’s words about Love.
Regardless of whether it is a Bible verse or other well known saying, when we hear something over and over again, it can run the risk of losing its meaning. How many times have you heard, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” or “Many hands make light work”? These sayings are repeated so often that we almost ignore them. When people say them to us or write them in an email, we can find ourselves rolling our eyes at the cliche.
Our desensitization can apply to the Bible just as well. Well known verses such as John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...”), John 1:1 (“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...”) or Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...”) can lose their meaning if we continually brush over them because we think we know them so well.
The message of Love in 1 Corinthians is timeless, important and beautiful. Read them again. These words call out that there are many wonderful ways for us to give and serve; yet none of them are of true value to us and to others if they are not done with Love. We can do great things, but without Love, we are merely going through the motions and our service can be missing the crucial element which enriches the server and the served.
It’s all about Love.
Going back to the 23rd Psalm for a moment: “He makes me lie down in green pastures...”. I’d never really thought about this verse. Why is it “makes”? I had always thought of it as more like He “lets” me lie down in green pastures. My interpretation was about the words implying a sense of comfort, beauty and peace. But there is more here. This Psalm starts out noting that the Lord is our Shepherd. It is a practice of shepherds that, when they have a lamb who continually strays, they actually take a hind leg of that lamb and break it over their staff. This forces the lamb to stay near. The shepherd then carries the lamb from field to field, taking it to water and nourishment. The Psalmist is saying that sometimes, God puts us in a “time out” in order for Him to keep us close and care for us more intimately. We talk about this verse in our prison ministry interactions. Many times, God has given our incarcerated brothers a literal “time out” and they have the opportunity to become closer to Him as he has done this to protect them from harming themselves or others.
So, I encourage you, my friends, return again to that well-known verse, that part of the Word with which you may think you are overly familiar. Is there more there to learn? Is there a new message for God to give you? Don’t let the Word become cliche, for many times, there is more than meets the eye.
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