Verse of the Day 8/12
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; English Standard Version (ESV)
There was a popular song in the mid sixties "What the World Needs Now" which said that the world needed love, sweet love, it's the only thing that there's just too little of... no, not just for some but for everyone. The sixties were times of strife, of war protests and while "love and peace" were often stated, there was little evidence of it in the culture. The same could easily be said today with all of the political wrangling and protests. It is easy to step back and say "where is the love"?
But just as showing the peace sign or having the peace symbol on your car didn't change anything in and of itself, complaining about the situation today without showing actual love, will not change things. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 Paul gives us God's treatise on love. But it actually starts with the last verse of chapter 12 where he says in verse 12:31 "I will show you a more excellent way", it is more than just telling, it is in the showing that it has power and impact.
John MacArthur reinforces this when he writes on these verses saying , "Unlike most English translations, which include several adjectives, the Greek forms of all those properties are verbs. They do not focus on what love is so much as on what love does and does not do.
Set against the backdrop of the Corinthians' self- promoting behavior, Paul's words are a strong rebuke. He says in effect, "Love is patient, but you are impatient. Love is kind, but you are unkind toward those who disagree with you. Love is not jealous, but you envy those with certain spiritual gifts. Love does not brag, but you are proud of your theology. Love is not arrogant and does not act unbecomingly, but often you are rude and ill-mannered toward one another. "Love does not seek its own, but you are self-centered. Love is not provoked, but you quarrel among yourselves. Love does not take into account a wrong suffered, but you hold grudges against each other. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but you delight in one another's failures. Love rejoices with the truth, but you distort and disobey God's Word. "Love bears all things, but you are defensive and resentful. Love is eager to believe the best about someone, but you are quick to assume the worst. Love never gives up and can tolerate incredible opposition, but you are weak and intolerant." If we are to demonstrate this love, we should not be impatient, unkind, arrogant, boastful, intolerant or resentful, but we too have to show others "a more excellent way", God's love as shown in His Word and in the life of Jesus.
-- In Christ, Mike Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. NIV
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[a] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[b] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment