Love

Love – I Corinthians 13: 1 - 13

Intro: The story is told of Richard Daly who was the Mayor of Chicago for 21 years (1955 – 1976). One day, one of Mayor Daly’s speech writers came in his office and asked for a pay raise. The mayor replied, “I’m not giving you a pay raise. You are already being paid more than you are worth. You should be paying me for the privilege of working for a great American hero like me. Get out.” The speech writer quietly left the office. Two weeks later Mayor Daly was to give a televised speech to a convention of veterans. Mayor Daly was famous for not reading his speeches until he got up to deliver them. As he stood before the crowd of veterans he began reading his speech, “I’m concerned for you. I have a heart for you. I am deeply convinced that this country needs to take care of its veterans. And so, today I am proposing a 17 point plan to take care of you – that includes the city, the state and the federal government.” As Daly turned the page, he saw only these words: “You’re on your own now, you great American hero.”

I In my childhood, I was given advice about growing into adulthood. One of those pearls of wisdom is this: “As you go through life, there will be many people who come into your life that you will want to trip just to watch them fall.” Another was, “Don’t get mad; get even.”

A Obviously, this is the motivation of the speech writer. If he was at all intelligent, I would guess that he had put his letter of resignation on Mayor Daly’s desk.

B Indeed, there have been people in my life that I wanted to trip just to watch them fall; but, I have never acted upon that impulse. I have gotten mad at some individuals; but, I’ve never sought to get even. I learned as I grew into adulthood there is a different way to deal with people.

C Looking at VV 1 – 3, one reads that Paul instructs the people of Corinth that w/o love they are nothing and they gain nothing.

II In VV. 4 – 7 Paul says there are some things more important than being right or powerful or honored. In these verses Paul lays out the characteristics and functions of love.

A VS 4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” In other words, “Love waits with patience and while waiting, is kind and merciful.”

B When you are forced to stand in a long line at a checkout counter, how patient are you? How patient are you with being forced to wait?

C Paul gives a list of 7 things that love is NOT: Envy / boasting / rude / self-serving / easily provoked / keeping account of wrongs / rejoicing in evil.

III What is love? How do we define it? Is Biblical love different from human love?

A GK has 4 words for love. Each has a different shade of meaning:

1) eros – love inspired by attraction, passion and desire. (Not in the

New Testament.)

2) Storge – natural affection / almost instinctual, that one has

for a child or pet.

3) phleo – affinity, fondness, friendship, brotherly love.

4) agape – longing for the well-being of someone. Used in

Association with God (appears more than 300 times in NT)

B The word Paul uses here is agape as he explains what love DOES: suffers long / is kind / bears all things / believes all things / hopes all things / endures all things / never fails.

C No matter how magnificent the accomplishment, power, or action, when love is missing the exercise in question become vain, selfish, fruitless, and individualistic. Love is the context in which the difficulties and trials of life are met.