1 Corinthians 13:
“If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
“What, why, and how?” These are a few of the questions we learned in school in order to write better informational essays. You can’t understand a topic unless you consider the what, why, and how.
I think when it comes to love, we often miss our “how.” We’ve got the “what.” What is Jesus’ command? Love your enemies. Love your neighbor. Got it. And why? We love because He first loved us. Because it’s being salty. Because it’s our resistance against the culture of the world. Because God chooses love as His tool to soften hearts and pull people towards Himself.
But how do we love? That’s details. That’s nuts and bolts.
1 Corinthians 13 lays out a fantastic roadmap for the God-kind of love we’re called to show. Love with patience. Kindness. Forgiveness. Humility. Rejoice in the truth. Hope on behalf of others. Persevere through trial. Don’t be concerned with having what others have.
I find it very helpful that Paul lays out what is not love before he describes what it is. Love is not necessarily good deeds. It’s not necessarily working yourself to the point of death. It’s not necessarily faith and prophecy and gifts of the Spirit.
It’s easy to guess at what real love is, and get to work based on our assumptions. Or to let the culture define what love is, and sign up for every social cause, sign every petition, and share every posts that asks us to “raise awareness.” But we can have a full calendar of love-like tasks, and still be missing our mandate to love like Jesus loved.
The question of how to love is clearly defined in scripture, and we have Christ’s powerful example for us: the humble servant, full of grace and truth. He refused anger and bitterness, forgiving all. He sacrificed Himself, enduring what had to be endured so that all might be saved.
If you can, this week, spend some time meditating on what love looks like to the people around you. How can you show 1 Corinthians 13 love to the people that God has placed right in front of you?