West Loop Church UBF

Key verse 7-8a

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Today we will be looking at one of the greatest passage or probably the greatest passage in all of literature on love. It's a very famous passage. You probably heard this read at weddings, funerals, and special occasions. So many songs have been written about love. One of my favorite is a song by Billy Joel called, "I love you just the way you are" and this song relates to this passage. This passage teaches us what true love is, and how to be a loving person, and how to be loving church.

From verses 1-3, Paul writes to a group of people in the church of Corinth. And the people in this church were gifted and talented. There were people with great speakers, teachers, awesome praise band, hard working people. People ready to serve the needy, ready to go with a do or die spirit, and ready to go to the ends of the earth. And they were also performing miracles. In verses 1-3, Paul says that it is possible to have all this, to be doing all this, and yet not be a loving people, not be a loving church. Paul is saying that you can do service to God and others and yet not love God and others at all. Now this passage as I said it's a very famous passage and many think of it as inspirational, but as we look at it, it sounds more like a strong rebuke by Paul to the church of Corinth. It's not inspirational, but Paul drops a strong rebuke on the church of Corinth.

Let me give you an illustration. The story goes like this: There was a farmer who loved his king and one day he grew a huge carrot and brought it to the king and said, "My king, this is the greatest thing I've ever produced and ever will produced. I like to give it to you as a token of my esteem. And as he walked away the king said, "Wait. What a delight and joy you've just given me. I would like to give to you a double portion of your land so you can have twice the farm you have. And the man went home rejoicing. Now a nobleman heard about it or overheard it, and the nobleman raised horses. And so he said to himself, "If the king would give that kind of land for a carrot, how much he would he give me for a horse, not just any horse, but the best horse! And so the nobleman went to the king and said, "My king, this is the best horse I've ever raised, please receive it as a token of my esteem. And the king looked at him and discerned his heart and said, "You discussed me. And the nobleman said, “What? This is a lot better than a carrot.” And the king said, “No it isn't. Because the farmer gave me the carrot, but you gave yourself the horse, I got nothing.” You see the farmer gave strictly out of love. He didn't give in order to get something that he really wanted. The king was loved by the farmer, but absolutely not at all by the nobleman.

Now when you come to God and pray, why do you pray? Why do you give? Why do you come to church? Do you come to God and pray to get a comfortable life? Do you pray get him to answer your prayers? Do you pray, read the bible and serve to get him to let you into heaven? If we are following God, if we are praying and serving to get something, then that's really not a personal relationship with God. Just like the nobleman in the illustration we're not really loving God but loving what we are getting.

Now in verses 1-3 Paul tells us what is most important thing in a Christian, and that is love. Paul tells us the mark of one who has received the gospel and has been changed in the heart by the gospel. If you read the first three verses that answer is love. When there's love in your heart, there's proof that you have been changed by the gospel because that's what gospel does. Now wait a minute. How could that be the sign? Many out there that are none believers and they don't believe God but they are loving people. They are capable of doing of what it says in the beginning of verses 4-8. They can be patient and they can be kind. But when we look verses 4-8 you can see the way Paul defines love is like climbing up to a mountain top. Verses 4-6 is like the bottom of the mountain but as it goes to the top, verses 7-8 its always protects, always hopes, always perseveres, love never fails.

Now in verses 4-8 Paul give us the definition of love. Paul is not giving a list of behavior of how to love. He's not saying to us, “you have to be patient, you have to kind to be loving.” What Paul is trying to do here is, he wants us to encounter love. He wants us to have a collision with love, he wants to be confronted by love. Before love is a behavior in a Chistian, love is an experience for the Christian. Love is something you meet before you do it. In order to be loving you have to meet love. A true Christian is one who met love. Then it shatters him, then captures him, and then empowers him.

First of all you have to be judged by the definition of love. When Paul says, love is this and love is that, he's giving you a picture of pure love, real love, and essential love. The definition in verses 7 to 8 it says, “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” That's the meaning of love.

Wow! Our definition of love is so different than what Paul is saying. We think we know what love is, we think we know what to do but let me tell you how we actually practice love. Human love is this: We love that person because we are getting something from that person. You love that person because of what you are getting. If your love ever gives up on somebody, it's because that person failed to bring you something you wanted. The only reason you would ever give up on somebody is if that person failed to give you something you want: affection, respect, approval, gratitude, or compliance. That's how we practice love. We practice love because of what they brought you. But if you love them, period, you would never give up on them. Therefore what Paul is really showing us is that true love doesn't love the love that person gives you, but they themselves. The definition of true love is not wanting the joy and happiness the love that brings you, but they themselves are your joy and happiness. Or to love someone is to love them not for what they bring you, but for just who they are, to value them, to delight in them, and enjoy them for who they are.

Paul says true love always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. If you love is real it will never ever fail! And if you like somebody, love someone because of what they bring you, that love is conditional. If you love the person because of appearance, handsome, pretty, or nice body, well, wait a few years and see. What if they start to lose their beauty, their hair, start to have wrinkles on their faces, six packs abs becomes six pack spare tires? What if they stopped giving what you want in them, your love will struggle, you love will stumble, you love will fail.

But let me tell you what kind of love we really want. This is the kind of love we all want inside us. Who here wants to be loved because of the things you give them? Who wants to be loved because of what you bring them? You know you want to be loved because of who you are. Deep inside you want unconditional love. We need unconditional love and we need to be loved for who we are and yet we can't possibly give it. No one can. We cannot but require it, demand it, but cannot live it.

Now Paul in verses 4-8 wants us to be judged by the definition of love but he is seeking us to look at the one who fulfilled real love. He does not say to us, you must be patient, you kind, but he personifies love. He wants us to look at the one who can give us unconditional love, a love that no one give. He wants us to know that unconditional love is real, there is such love. It happened it time and space, and someone actually was able to do it. A Christian is someone who has seen it, experienced it, lavished by it. He was shattered by it, captured by it and was empowered by it.

Jesus Christ said to his disciples, greater love has no one than this and he showed them and to the world the love that no one can give. When Jesus was on the cross, God was beating him up and he says, “My God” His love for God endured to the end. When he was on the cross, we are beating him up and he says, “Father forgive them.” In spite of our sins, his love for us endured to the end. Now the bible says Jesus died for us because he loved us. Love us because was he trying get something from us? Now what could Jesus get from us? Glory, he had glory! Power, he had power? He loved us because he loves us! Did he love us because of what we did? When you love some you tell your love one why you love them. You write love letters with poetic words, and even sprinkle the love letter with perfume. You have lists of why love them. How about God? What if God would have loved us the way we would love others. If God would love us the way we love, we are in trouble. No one will enter heaven. We all go straight down!

God loves us for nothing. God does not give us a list of why love us. He loves us for who we are. No one has ever loved us for nothing. No one has ever loved you for who you are but only Jesus loves you for who you are. That means he loves you completely. He loves you for you not for what brought him, because you brought nothing.

What is a Christian? A Christian is someone who finally finds someone who can love not by what we bring, what we do, but he loves us, in spite of our sins, our failures and mistakes. If we have realized that, what the gospel is, something happens to us. If you have seen the absolute beauty of someone who loves you not for what you brought him but for who you are, when that humbles you and lifts you up, the love at the top of the mountain love (verses 7-8), first convicts you, then saves you, then changes you, you would be able to love God for who he is. You begin to obey God simply because you want to please him. You love God not because of what he brings you, but God himself is your joy. Even if he doesn't bring you happiness, God is your happiness and that happens.

You have to meet love before you can do love. Before love becomes a behavior in you, it has to become a person to you. True love is real. It happened and love was a person. And when love meets you like that, it changes your whole approach to God, to self and to everyone else.

Reference:

Keller, Tim. "Loves way to God." Gospel Coalition. http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/Loves-Way-with-God#
Keller, Tim. "Loves way to others." Gospel Coalition. http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/Loves-Way-with-Others#