Making love, Part 5: love is God’s ultimate weapon
Link to the previous parts in the series
The previous entries discuss the shortcomings of trying to rush love, and offer a discussion of how real, selfless love takes times. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 shows how God reveals himself through true expressions of love.
Love never Fails (v. 8)
What a succinct and perfect message. Love never ends. Scripture declares that God is love, and here it tells us that love never fails. Logic proclaims, therefore, God never fails. When it comes to love, you might have seen a pattern of failure throughout your life because at worst, you’ve seen the inept efforts of human loves. At best, you’ve seen noble godly efforts, but they’re incomplete. When all is made perfect - when Christ comes again - you will understand fully because you will be in the eternal presence of love (because you will be in the presence of God, from where all love issues forth), and you will fully understand love.
Love approaches perfection (v. 9-12)
You can live in love because love gives you a glimpse of the future perfection, the promised everlasting of realized love. Some day, you can see love face to face because Christ is coming again. And when he does, love will be fulfilled. You will never have to settle for the characteristics of love, or the symbols of love, or the shadows of love, because you will be eternally living in the complete glory of true, pure, unmatched and unending love. And when that day comes, the Bible tells us here that you will know just as you are known.
What that means is that you will know love either to the full extent that you live it because of your relationship with Christ, or you will know it because you have to spend eternity apart from it because you are known by the lovelessness in your life. It’s not enough to just acknowledge Jesus. The Bible foretells that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. The Bible also says that even Jesus himself said, “Not all who say to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.” You will be known by your love. When that day comes, there will be no excuses. No second chances. So the question is, how will YOU be known?
Love makes faith and hope necessary (v. 13)
Faith and hope are two characteristics of love. Possessing either of these without love is pointless. Who would want to have hope in a god who was void of love? Where is the basis of faith if it is not driven by love? This verse says to “abide in these three” (faith, hope, and love). Abide means to rest in, to live in. Live in your faith of a loving God. Live in your faith of a loving, living Christ. Finally, live today, and live eternally in the love of the God who created you and who loved you so much He provided a simple (kind) way for you to have heaven.
The final word is that love trumps faith and love. Love rules. Love never fails.
God loves you.
Without fail.
Now, go love others the way he loves you.
