"The 1Corinthians 13 passage is the nice passage we hear in weddings, funerals and poetry recitals. But it has been butchered and torn to bits because we often don't look at the context of Paul's words on love. We must ask: Why does Paul tell the Corinthians about love? Why does he do it here? What has been said before and after? The reason why Paul tells the Corinthians about love here is that Paul wants them to be serving each other at church in love. Yes, the reason of love is serving and the target of love is other brothers and sisters at church...""So we have to ask what does love look like? If we are to pursue life in the most excellent way we must know what love is and what it looks like. I would suggest that from the profile of love in verses 4-7, love is essentially other-person-seeking. Verse 5 gives me a summary: love is not self-seeking. The object of love is the good of others. If we start from that we can work out a beautiful portrait of love as all other features of love fit under this..."
"But we must not idolise love at this point and turn love into an idea we worship. Neither should we look inwardly at our hearts or around us to our loved ones to find what true love is. Paul and many other Apostles, such as John and Peter, have already given a definition of love. Love is what God has shown us in Jesus. We often call this story of love the gospel. If anyone asks me what is the greatest act of love I have experienced or known of, I would say what John said, that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Or something like... Love is when our creator God pursues us like a Father who's lost His precious Son. Love is when God comes to be with us in our dirt, shame, sin, bondage, disease, sickness, suffering and death in the person of Jesus. Love is when God gave us all of Himself in Jesus in sacrifice, to people who have rejected Him and spat on Him and swore at Him. Love is when Jesus willingly laid down His life for you and me so that we could be free from the guilt and punishment of our rebellious lives. Love is when God paid freely and completely for our debt in sin. Love is when God reconciles the whole world to Himself through Jesus even when we weren't willing to lift a finger to say sorry. Love is when God promises us the hope of new life from this crass and fallen world through Jesus' Resurrection. Love is when God by his Spirit grants us all that we need for living now under His rule as we wait for His return. Love will be when we children of God get to meet Him, the Creator, Judge, Saviour, Friend and Father, face to face forever in His glorious light. Do you wonder why John calls God love and that love and mercy is the character of God to Moses? Brothers and sisters, if you still are not moved by this love, pray that you do, or else you cannot taste the sweetness of Paul's words on living life in love. Our love depends on God's love for us, it starts and ends with Him. And His love seeks our good at His cost..."
"The greatest thing that separates love from other spiritual gifts and characteristics is that love never 'fails' according verse 8, or love never ends. Paul is speaking of the end times here. Love exists love as God has shown us, and the way of love will continue to exist when He returns, and when we live in eternity with Him. The excellent of way does not disappear but reappears and lasts for ever, even beyond this lifetime. Nothing else does, not any of our spiritual gifts. Love, however, does not end. God does not cease to be loving in Heaven, He displays greater and even more love in other ways, just you wait. We've tasted His love on the Cross, we'll feast on His love at the Resurrection, and in eternity we continue to celebrate and experience His love when we see him face to face. This is how we understand 'love never fails' in verse 8..."
"But love never fails, love never ends. It is the only thing that does not cease. Bible studies cease, tongues cease, teaching ceases, talks cease. But God's love and His way of other-person-seeking love, does not end. What we participate now is a part of God's eternal nature. As we seek the good of others now, we experience what God will eternally grant to us in heaven. You want a taste of heaven, love your brother or sister now. This experience I guarantee you from God's word, is a taste of eternity and all its joys. That is why even faith and hope give way to love as spiritual characteristics. As Christians we hope for the coming of perfection, but when perfection comes, we no longer need to hope but we celebrate the consummation of all our hopes. As Christians, we trust and depend on God's promises through faith. But when God's promises are fulfilled, our trust is made complete and we celebrate God's gift of trust to us. But as we love one another because we have tasted God's love, we begin an eternal work, experience and enterprise that never ends. Will God stop showing us His love in heaven, certainly not! Will we stop delighting in the loves shown to us by other children of God, never! You cannot get enough of this love. Will there be less opportunities to seek the good of others in the future, never. You will have all the time, energy, creativity to pour out your love for others and for God. We will find it easier to love, boast in each other, give thanks for each other, serve one another, even as God has served us. Love does not end but continues in eternity as the most excellent way to live with each other to praise of God."
These are some snippets of the talk, click the opening sentence for the link to a google doc. There were quite a few youth at Clay.NSCCCS today. I was again impressed by the presentation of the songs: there were background pictures to every song, not just a coloured page. Roberta even wrote one herself.
BTW I think we are in dire need of confessional songs or songs about repentance and turning back. Anyone interested in writing one with me?
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