A LOVE THAT LASTS A LIFE TIME
1 Corinthians 13 & Proverbs 30:18-19
Sermon Objective: A wedding sermon on the permanency and power of love.
My, oh my! Rob and Anna, I have been looking forward to this day. I know you have too. I believe God has wonderful things in store for you as a couple … a life that is meaningful and enriches the lives of those around you. I believe God’s hand is already on you and the life’s legacy you will leave will be beyond your wildest imagination.
And I believe that because I see your love for each other and your love for our Lord Jesus. In fact, it is only as your love reflects the love of Christ that your life will take on a deeper meaning than the superficial sentimentality that often masquerades as love.
Rob, I have watched the way you look at Anna and the way you treat her. It reminds me of the words of the writer in Proverbs which said, "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden” (Proverbs 30:18-19). I know from watching you that you desire to love Anna as Christ loves His church and to serve her from a genuine posture of sacrifice and preference.
Anna, I have heard you talk about Rob. I know your love for him expresses itself in admiration and respect. I know you will prove to be a wonderful companion and that you genuinely desire to bless him and serve him.
I also know that, undoubtedly, you both have fears and questions. Some you have expressed. Some are kept hidden deep inside and you are afraid to bring them to the surface. Some of that is normal and some of those are the seeds of an enemy already attempting to thwart the oneness … the union … that God has in store for you.
I want to impart God’s peace and assurance to you today. I want to assure you that love can last for a lifetime … in fact it was designed to last for a lifetime.
“Psychology Today Magazine” had a very timely an article in their June 2010 volume. The title of the article was “Can Love Last a Lifetime?” and their answer was Yes! Here is a thoroughly secular source that has recently changed its position and discovered that love need not fade and need not disappear. Previously they said love would almost all but vanish within ten years of a marriage but now they say otherwise. Of course, most people already knew this and PT is a few millennia behind the curve but, none-the-less, they now say even science proves love can last.
Using brain scans, researchers at Stony Brook University here in New York have discovered that couples who have been married 20 plus years respond with as much passion towards each other as young couples in the early throes of romance.
You see, the first flush of infatuation, and the temporary intoxication that comes with a new and highly emotional relationship really can pave the way for a life of deepening commitment and growing love. And that is especially true for people of faith who have the model of Christ to emulate.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 is sometimes seen as the ideal portrait of love - a love that means all is well and there are no problems. But that is far from the truth. This famous passage on love, reflects the kind of love Jesus has for His people and that love is pock-marked with scars of sacrifice and selfless devotion. Jesus’ love for you, as you are aware, cost him dearly; but He knows you are worth it. That is the model of love that you have for each other. If you make the love-style of this chapter your love style, your marriage can last forever and continue to deepen and grow until your final days.
Maybe I should pause and read the chapter to you …
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
May I read this to you again? This time I want to read you my paraphrase of this chapter. It is paraphrased with your marriage in mind and with the help of Eugene Petersen’s “The Message”. I hope you will find it instructive, inspiring, and illuminating.
If I can speak with charm and suave but do not have love … my words will ring hollow. If I have the gift of gab, extra special insight, and the ability to “save the day” but no love – I am useless. If I serve you hand and foot, or even make myself a doormat but do not have love, I am no good to anybody.
Real love never gives up.
Real love cares more for others than for self.
Real love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Real love doesn't play to the audience, doesn't have a swelled head, doesn't force itself on others, isn't always the center of attention, doesn't fly off the handle, doesn't keep score of the hurts and wrongs of others, and doesn't revel when others grovel.
Real love takes pleasure in sincerity and truth, puts up with a lot of grief, always trusts God, and always looks for the best.
Real love never looks back, but keeps going to the end.
Real love lasts forever! All other gifts and talents will one day cease but not godly love – it is the epitome of perfection. We can’t see this clearly right now … we are only getting vague glimpses. But when we see God, who is love, we will understand this truth as fully as we are understood by God Himself.
There are three noble qualities that will last forever, faith, hope, and love. But love is even greater than the other two!
This chapter gives us a full, mature view of love. It is beautiful … but … it is not necessarily romantic. The love of which Paul speaks of is a behavior we exercise even when we do not feel loving or lovable. Love takes the difficulties and realities of life and enables us to face them … and to face them together.
Sadly, many marriages deteriorate into tolerance and mere existence. But it does not have to be that way. By drawing close to God and learning to love as God loves, it can be worthwhile & enjoyable.
When Vickie and I first got married I thought our love was at it apex … I could not understand how much more love could deepen and mature. As I look back now I can see how it has advanced and I can assure you that loving Jesus more than ourselves has been the great catalyst to teach us how to love each other.
My prayer for the two of you is that you will continue to grow in love - love for one another, love for God, & love for your neighbor. If you do this, you will not only have a blessed marriage, you will also have a blessed life.
Let’s pray together.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
