[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[13:27, 16/09/2022] S. R.:
[Starting from today for the next
20 days or so, I shall be posting about Biblical Love from the passage of 1
Corinthians 13.]
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟙
"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."
In v1, the comparison is with the
speeches (tongues). Winsome speech without Love is noise.
Saying, "I love you,"
which is a speech (saying) could be as annoying as noisy cymbals. Love is more
than words.
Also, it means the real virtue one
must seek after is love. A good speech shuts down many wars and quarrels. A
good speech motivates people and heals the broken-hearted. A good speech can
achieve many things. But love can accomplish much. Without love, even the best
speeches, the best thoughts of the most noble and wise person or an angel are
nothing.
#Love more than words#
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟚a
"If I have the gift of
prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; …, but do not have love, I
am nothing."
2nd negative comparison
of Biblical Love is in this verse 2:
Love is not only superior to best speeches but also superior to any
wisdom and understanding.
Wisdom, knowledge, intelligence are
not love. One can solve a lot of problems and trouble. One's knowledge can cure
certain diseases or invent certain technology to live a better life. But such
knowledge, skills, wisdom, and efforts are useless without love.
In fact, people do great things not
because of love for others but to please themselves.
You may be the scientist who
discovers a cure for AIDS, you may be the Economist who solves global poverty,
and you could do this without love for the people, and if so, somebody who is
nobody but has love is better than you.
Btw, the prophet Jonah knew the
prophecy of God concerning Nineveh. He even knew the wonders God will do to
them—repentance and salvation. And He is a prophet of God. Yet, he had no love
for the Ninevites. He was a miserable guy attempting suicide only for God to
confront him and change him later on.
#Love is superior to
best speeches and intelligence.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟚b
" . . . if I have all faith,
so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
The most powerful faith is of no
use if there's no love. Indeed, demons can speak more eloquently and charmingly
than any human being. The demons know the mystery we have never known. And the
demons believe in the power of God more than any human being. The demons have
been since before we existed. But the demons have no love for God. That's why
they are doomed.
Love is more than the affirmation
of truth. Love is more than words. Love is more than knowledge.
# Supremacy of Love
over Speeches, Knowledge, and Faith#
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟛a
"And if I give all my
possessions to feed the poor . . . but do not have love, it profits me
nothing."
Love is more than gifts, more than philanthropy,
more than sharing all our possessions.
Indeed, one may give and give, and
not love. Indeed, more than material goods, a poor man who is lost needs the Saviour
(Christ) more.
In fact, many parents spoil their
children by giving them too many things. They think that's the most loving
thing to do. Love is more than giving. Even without giving anything, love would
sustain. But without love, the greatest giver/giving is nothing according to
this verse.
Again, it's telling us about the
superior virtue of Love.
#We value and admire
those who are skillful in speaking,
#We admire those who
are intelligent, genius, etc.
#We admire those who
have unwavering faith in something (especially in God)
#We admire those who
are generous, but we must value and admire the virtue of Love more than all
these.
And the good news is we can have
love, practice love, and is commanded to love.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟛b
" . . . and if I surrender my
body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."
This is the last and final "if
I" Paul used in v1-3 to express the superiority of Love over the gift of
speech over the gift of knowledge over the gift of faith over the gift of
generosity and now even over life itself — sacrificial martyrdom.
Consider this carefully, friends.
Each one of these gifts is great, but in itself, or without love, these are
nothing; that's what Apostle Paul is saying.
Indeed, we have read of many people
in the newspaper who burnt themselves to death for a social cause, but we know,
that's not done out of love but out of anger against the government or
whatsoever.
Some people choose a career in the military
to die as a hero, not really loving the nation but loving to be a decorated
hero.
No matter what the cause is, even
martyrdom is nothing if there's no love. Love is deeper, broader, truer, and
more than martyrdom.
Let's grow in this love dutifully.
The Holy Spirit in us bears Love in our heart. Let's develop it, nurture it,
grow it. Like you wake up and choose to go to your workplace because it's your
duty to do, we must consider loving one another as our duty too. We must choose
to love.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟜a
“Love is patient . . .”
We have seen the superiority of
Love over some of the greatest gifts man can be endowed with in v1-3. They were
5 and I have posted about them each day in the last 5 days: tongue, prophecy,
faith, generosity (philanthropy), zeal (martyrdom).
Today, from v4 Paul explains what
Love is. He gives 16 characteristics of love from v4-8. And I shall take 16
days to go through each one of them.
First, Love is patient. In other
words, love is long-suffering. This has the idea of enduring under provocations
of evil from the other side.
It's to not lose heart. It's to
have a large room for the other person. It's to not get provocative easily.
It's to not have grudges.
It is to be patient under the
offenses and injuries of others. It is the capacity and willingness to suffer
for a long long time.
#Are you easily mad at
others or your loved ones?
#Do you want to give up
when you see fault in the other person?
If so, you are lacking in love.
Pray for repentance. Choose to love, to stick, to endure, to forgive, and to
still enjoy loving.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟜b
" . . . love is kind . .
."
2nd characteristic of
Love is kindness.
This word in Greek has the idea of
doing good, to be profitable, to be useful to others.
Love not only endures the offenses
of others and forgives the person but also does not revenge, rather it seeks to
do good and be useful for the other person. That's the kindness this verse is
talking about.
Doing good to others in spite of
their badness, being gracious and generous towards them, that's kindness on
display.
Patience: Negatively, love
tolerates a difficult person.
Kind: Positively, love seeks to be
gracious to the difficult person.
# Kindness is a virtue
we must seek to develop in and among us and to practice it.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟜c
" . . . [Love] is not jealous;
. . . "
Third characteristic of Love is
that it's not jealous. Positively, it could be said that it's contented.
Some Bible versions may have
"envy" instead of ‘jealous’. Both feelings are mostly related and
interchangeable but "jealous" would be the most accurate translation
of this Greek word.
One lexicographer said that
Jealousy is the feeling you have when you worry someone will take what you
have; and envy is wanting what someone has. Jealousy is considered more
negative. And Envy could lead to Jealousy.
God is a jealous God. There's good
jealousy. Even Paul said of such good jealousy in 2 Cor. 11:12 that he is
jealous for the Corinthians to be a chaste bride for Christ.
The bad jealousy is what is
referred to in Acts 7:9 which the children of Jacob had for their brother
Joseph.
Love is not jealous in the sense a
loving person doesn't want to harm or take away the goods of others. A loving
person wouldn't consider whether the other person should have or not have such
and such based on his circumstances. He wouldn't compare what he have or
doesn't have with the other person and would think for the good of the other
person.
I am a jealous guy because my God
is a jealous God, but my jealousy is not always good because I am just a mere
man. And I need to re-examine myself from time to time when it has become bad
jealousy.
#Love is not jealous
(bad jealousy) nor envious.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟜d
"[Love] . . . does not brag .
. .,"
4th characteristic of
Love is — it's not boasting.
Indeed, if someone is boasting of
what he has or achieved, other people will not feel good.
While it's okay to tell of some of
our achievements to inspire others or to give a positive challenge like Apostle
Paul telling the Corinthians to imitate him, sometimes we could be crossing the
boundary — resulting to seek (expect/ demand) praise and demeaning others.
I would like to believe I am
maintaining the balance but I think I must be crossing the boundary a lot.
#Beware of praising
self
#Beware of self-pity
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟜e
". . . [Love] is not
arrogant,"
The 5th characteristic
of Love is that it is not swelled up with pride.
The Bible says that God hates the
proud and humbles the proud.
Pride makes a man think highly of
himself and also look down on others. Pride makes a man think more important
than what he is. It makes him think he is better than others.
#Don't look down on
others
#Don't blow your own
trumpet
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟝a
"[Love] does not act
unbecomingly; . . .”
The 6th characteristic
of Love is it's decent, polite, cool, calm (positively stated).
This word is used only 2 times in
the New Testament. The other time used was in the same book, 1 Cor. 7:36. It's
described as a man behaving improperly with a girl because he wants to marry
her. So, we get some idea of what this word means.
Love is not easily provoked. It
doesn't do or say or suggest any improper things. It is well-mannered. It will
not do anything that will bring shame.
#Watch over your
emotion: temper
#Watch over your
attitude: couldn't-care-less.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟝b
"[Love] . . . does not seek
its own . . ."
The 7th characteristic
of love is, it's not selfish.
Love does not use its freedom for
the discomfort of others. Love sacrifices its right and freedom for the sake of
others. Love thinks for the well-being of others.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟝c
“[Love] . . . is not provoked . . .”
8th Characteristic of
Love is it's temperate.
It is not easily angered. It has
room to tolerate, bear, forgive, and understand. It's not irritated easily.
It's not quick to give up. It's not quick to react. It's not getting restless
or disturbed easily.
This word in verb form appears only
two times in the New Testament. The other time was in Acts 17:16, it was used
positively. Paul was provoked by the idolatries of Athens, and he preached
Christ to them.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟝d
"[Love] . . . does not take
into account a wrong suffered"
The 9th characteristic
of Love is that it forgets the mistakes of others.
It doesn't keep a record of wrong
done against it.
However, God used to remind the
redeemed people of their past sins not to make them feel guilty again and
again, but to motivate them to not live in sin.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟞a
"[Love] does not rejoice in
unrighteousness . . ."
10th characteristic of
Love is it's not sinful.
It doesn't tolerate
unrighteousness. It confronts sin. It rebukes sin. It doesn't do the unrighteous
thing. It repents of sin.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟞b
"[Love] . . . rejoices with
the truth"
11th characteristic of
Love is truthful.
No matter what the lot is, love
will choose to be truthful.
Love without truth is manipulation.
True love is always in the truth.
Does getting a job through bribery
ought to be celebrated? Not so, according to this verse.
In more or less, love will rejoice
with truthful principles.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟟a
"[Love] bears all things . . ."
The 11th characteristic
of Love is it bears all things.
In other words, love overlooks the
mistakes of others.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟟b
"[Love] . . . believes all
things . . ."
The 12th characteristic
of Love is it believes all things.
Of course, not in believing false
things. Nor in exercising blind faith. Love is not stupidity.
Love believes all the true things
of God. Love believes the best of others.
I find this statement to be the
most piercing one to my soul: Love believes.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟟c
"[Love] . . . hopes all things
. . ."
The 13th characteristic
of Love is it hopes even when others have given up.
Love hopes for the best, sees for
the bright side of things. Thus, love encourages, motivates, and persuades the person.
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟟d
"[Love] . . . endures all
things."
The 14th characteristic
of Love is it endures.
It never runs away. It's brave. It
is not giving up; it goes through.
Love endures!
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟠a
"Love never fails . . ."
The 16th characteristic
of Love (and the last one in this exposition) is it never fails.
Love will remain. Love will
survive. Love will last. Love will not cease to exist.
Let's not fail one another as
children of love!
𝟙
ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕤
𝟙𝟛:𝟠b
". . . 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."
All of us have the capacity to love
and are commanded to love.
While we may admire those who excel
in knowledge, languages, and prophecy, we are doing much better if we excel in
loving one another.
[07:32, 09/10/2022] S. R.:
I've not decided what to update next after a series on Love from 1 Corinthian
13. Maybe, I will resume posting by Monday.