1 Corinthians 13 - This Kind of Love Never Fails!

1 Corinthians 13 - NIV


13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

Unless a couple I am marrying specifically has a  reason to pick another verse, I will pick these verses every time I am asked to officiate at a wedding. These were the verses which were read at my wedding service. Why do I say this? Because if one will choose to love their spouse in the way spelled out by the apostle Paul in this chapter, their marriage will never fail. Why not? After all the divorce rate is about 50% for BOTH Christians and non-Christians. 

Because the love Paul describes here is a different kind of love than the world knows. It is not love in the sense of "I love ice cream". Or, "I love the Detroit Tigers".  Or, I just love him, he is such a great person. Or, even the phrase used so often, "I fell in love with her". While those types of love are not bad, they do not capture the type of love Paul is talking about here. 

The type of love Paul is talking about here is not based in feelings or emotions. It is a choice. It is self-sacrificial. It is unselfish. It is the same type of love Jesus demonstrated on the cross. Jesus didn't have to go to the cross. but He chose to go to the cross because of his love for you and me. Love is a choice! 

It is this love that Paul is talking about when he says in verse 8, "Love never fails". This love can never fail because it is not seeking anything in return. It is not based on the motto, "What have you done for me lately?" It is the love we are all looking for, but so few find it. Though we can learn how love like this, only God, who is love, can give and show us this kind of love. It is God's love that will never fail. 

Therefore, when I love you, or my wife, or my kids with this kind of love, it can never fail. As I demonstrate this love I am the best husband, father, and friend I could ever be.  

When you look at examples of this type of love in verses 4 through 7, it seems impossible for us to be able to demonstrate this love day in and day out. And it is. At the heart of our sinful nature is something antithetical to the love Paul is talking about. It's me. The very heart of my sinful nature is to make everything about me. 

When I am truly loving someone the way Paul describes, I get out of the way. It is almost easier to love this way, because there are no strings attached. Meaning, I won't get upset if someone doesn't return my love "quid pro quo". The joy of giving this kind of love is as good if not better than getting this kind of love. 

By the way, this is the love the world is looking for, that only a Christ follower can give. But you can't give what you don't have. It is only as you have accepted and experienced God's love in Christ, that you can give it away. Also, it is through knowing God's "agape" love, that we can truly love ourselves. This is not a vain or selfish love but loving what God loves. If God loves me, it is ok for me to love me. To love the me God created. 

When we preach the gospel using the most famous words in the bible, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son", this is the kind of love we are referring to. We can try to figure out all kinds of ways to make the gospel relevant, to answer everyone's objections to the Christian faith, but the most effective evangelism is to incarnate this kind of love. Not only to we talk about it but we show it! This is a winning combination. After all, "God's Love NEVER fails!" 

Where do you need to understand more of God's love in Christ, so you can share it more effectively? 

What part of yourself do you have a hard time loving? How can knowing God's unconditional love in Christ help you to accept that part of you? 

Who do you know that could really use this kind of love right now, as evidence that God loves and cares for them? What is stopping you from reaching out to them? 

God, thank you for sending us Your only Son to show us how much You love us. Jesus, you proved your love for us by choosing to die for us on the cross. Help me to have faith in that kind of love, to accept it for myself, and then pass it on to others who don't yet know it! Amen. 

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