The Immutability of Love
I have been plugging along in 1 Corinthians the last month, moving slow, as typical. In the past, 1 Corinthians has been a high point for me, but this time through I've had fewer highs. Maybe it's where I am in my own life, maybe it's that I am understanding the book more accurately and less subjectively or emotionally.hodgepodge of things that it's impressed me as being a catch all of sorts...a letter Paul perhaps knew was necessary but didn't look forward to writing. It's a "your kids need to snap back into shape what are you going to do?" kind of moment.
The church at Corinth was behaving badly--disorderly. The city of Corinth was a mess to begin with, characterized by sexual liberty, rudeness, division, arguments, and pride. We don't have the other half--what the church said to Paul--but from the context, we can hope that they were earnestly seeking His will, how to resolve and address some rather complex but common issues.
Whether in 1st century AD or now, these types of issues may change in particulars but not in nature. There is still division within the Church--some divisions petty in nature and others worth delineating. Regardless of the specific issues or seriousness of those issues, Paul's overarching lens is love. It's that basic:
The church at Corinth was behaving badly--disorderly. The city of Corinth was a mess to begin with, characterized by sexual liberty, rudeness, division, arguments, and pride. We don't have the other half--what the church said to Paul--but from the context, we can hope that they were earnestly seeking His will, how to resolve and address some rather complex but common issues.
Whether in 1st century AD or now, these types of issues may change in particulars but not in nature. There is still division within the Church--some divisions petty in nature and others worth delineating. Regardless of the specific issues or seriousness of those issues, Paul's overarching lens is love. It's that basic:
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT
Now, basic is different than easy. Love is not easy, it's the most difficult of things. It necessitates all of the qualities that follow this passage in the famous "love chapter." But, love is the North Star to it all, the abiding piece, the one thing among all the rest that is solid, good as gold, even better than gold. A few verses later, Paul clarifies that other qualities and giftings are incomplete and will be done away with, but love will not:
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!
But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10, NLT
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