Chapter – 23 ‘What is Love’
The former military CHAPLIN was once again speaking in the football stadium, in Valentines hometown. He was telling the audience about his upbringing; he was born a Jew in Brooklyn; his family had always been proper Jews; they went to the synagogue each Saturday. He had learned the Torah as a youngster and could recite much of it. It wasn’t until he was in his twenties that he was told that Christ was the Messiah who had spent time living in Israel teaching a dozen Disciples the inspired Gospel. He, Jesus, then gave them an assignment prior to going back to heaven; it was to proclaim the scriptures to the world, Matthew 28:16-20. Yosef commented, “Don’t forget to take some notes on your bulletin.”
This evening, I am one of those, who will proclaim a short message. I was reading 1st Corinthians, chapter 13 recently and would like to share a truth that I learned. As I read the first 3 verses there were 5 IF’s, then in verse 8 there were 3 more IF’s. Why so many IF’s I asked myself.
“What I found out as I backed up and reread the chapter is that most of us have a challenge in our love life. A few minutes ago I told you about my Jewish upbringing; we had several SHALL’s and SHALL-NOTS in the Torah but not much love in our messages. We weren’t focused, I guess. So as I read verse 4, the first word I read was LOVE. In fact there were 3 Loves in that verse alone.”
He told them the verse reads, Love is patient, love is kind; since God is love have you ever read the verse like ‘God is patient, God is kind’. It looks like the scripture is telling all of us that IF we had the FAITH to remove a mountain, but lacked love then there is no profit to that gift of FAITH, which many folks have been given. “What do you think? ..OK, besides the IS’s there are a few IS NOT’s; like Is Not arrogant, Is Not jealous, Is Not provoked..etc..”
It looks like the bottom line in verse 4 through the end of chapter 13, is that all of us need to focus on love. Even the 1st two words in Chapter 14 tells us to ‘pursue LOVE’ or more important, ‘pursue GOD’.
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus a question, “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus responded by quoting Matthew 22:37; then in verses 22:39 he adds the 2nd greatest commandment. Both require Love. So LOVE must be important to the Lord. Someone had to pay the penalty for my iniquity; God showed love; HE loved enough to actually shed the-blood. How many of us could or would willingly shed blood or even die for some sinner who was living under a bridge down the road a mile or so?
Yosef added three Love examples from scripture:
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives… should 50 % of marriages end in divorce?
Matthew 5:44 Love your enemies…that’s a big OOUCHIE to the majority of us.
Mark 12:31 Love your neighbor as you love yourself; what if he beats his kids?
Yosef walked toward the podium and then said, “Is LOVE something easy to attain or is it something we all have to work at? Here is a challenge.”
‘Practice at your weakness, until it becomes your strength.’
Attachment
‘The Great Commission’
Matthew 28:16-20, 16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Is Jesus saying, “If you LOVE me, Go and share the Gospel?”
Matthew 22:37-39, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
1 Cor. 13: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
[Try putting the word God where you see the word Love and think as you read]
[God is AGAPE Love; HE is not Philia or Eros Love.]
DG