Love is the Most Excellent Way
The Bible teaches that we are to be people who exercise love in all of our relationships with one another.
1. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2. If 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 do not have love, I am nothing.
3. 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.
4. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8. Love 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.
9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10. but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
11. When 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 the ways of childhood behind me.
12. For now we see only a 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.
13. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Paul speaks of understanding, patience, and kindness. And when we are understanding, patient and kind, we are generally thoughtful of other people.
Prov. 10:19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
Watch your steps as well. We offend with our words and with our actions.
Romans 14:13b “make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way." NIV
Philippians 2:3-4
“3. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4. not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” NIV
Rom. 15:1-3
1. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
3. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” NIV
Gal. 5:13
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. NIV
Gal. 6:2
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. NIV
Have you heard the story about the actor who was playing the part of Christ in the Passion Play in the Ozarks? As he carried the cross up the hill a tourist began heckling, making fun of him, and shouting insults at him. Finally, the actor had taken all of it he could take. So he threw down his cross, walked over to the tourist, and punched him out.
After the play was over, the director told him, "I know he was a pest, but I can’t approve of what you did. Besides, you’re playing the part of Jesus, and Jesus never retaliated. So don’t do anything like that again." Well, the man promised he wouldn’t. But the next day the heckler was back worse than before, and finally the actor exploded and punched him out again.
The director said, "That’s it. I have to fire you. We just can’t have you behaving this way while playing the part of Jesus." The actor begged, "Please give me one more chance. I really need this job, and I can handle it if it happens again." So the director decided to give him another chance.
The next day he was carrying his cross up the street. Sure enough, the heckler was there again. You could tell that the actor was really trying to control himself, but it was about to get the best of him. He was clinching his fists and grinding his teeth. Finally, he looked at the heckler and said, "I’ll meet you after the resurrection!"
It is hard for those who profess to be Christians to behave like Christians should. We try to carry our crosses, that is to daily live as He has shown us to live, but if someone insults us, we tend to lose our composure and behave just as though we had never met Jesus, much less made a commitment to life for Him.
But the Bible teaches us that we are to be people who exercise love in all of our relationships with one another.
II Cor. 6:11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12. We are not withholding our affection from you, … NIV
I think we can assume that in Paul’s free speech he was quick to express his love for people. He wasn’t afraid or proud to say, "You mean a lot to me. I care about you. I love you. I am here for you."
Eccl. 3:7 "a time to be silent and a time to speak,"
Prov. 10:21 "The lips of the righteous nourish many." Are you nourishing people with your lips, with your speaking?
Prov. 12:18b "The tongue of the wise brings healing." Are you bringing about healing with your words?
Prov. 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick..."
For people longing to hear the words, “I love you” I believe that many people are heartsick because they never hear those words from anyone: "I LOVE YOU!" They hope to hear those words of love from you, but never do. Or they seldom do.
Listen to these words, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" [Romans 12:18]. And again, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love" [Ephesians 4:2]. And still again, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy..." [Hebrews 12:14].
Now all of those Scriptures say the same thing. It may be difficult sometimes, and not everybody will be easy to love, but if it is possible, we are to live in peace and harmony with everyone.
We’ll focus on 1 Corinthians 13, the "love chapter" of the Bible. This morning we’ll look at the first 3 verses which Paul begins by saying, "Now I will show you the most excellent way."
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE IN OUR LIVES
He is saying, "I want to show you the best way to take care of virtually every situation, and that is the way of love." Then he points out that love is more important than 5 other things that Christians consider very important.
A. In vs. 1, Paul says that love is more important than spiritual gifts. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."
On the day of Pentecost, when the very first gospel sermon was ever preached, God gave the apostles the special gift of being able to speak in languages that they had never learned so that the people hearing them could understand what was being said.
But here in 1 Corinthians, Paul is saying that if God gave him the gift of speaking every human language, and even the heavenly language of the angels, but he didn’t have love, then he would be nothing more than a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. Now what did he mean by that?
We know that back in the 1st Century, there was a big gong or cymbal hanging at the entrance of most pagan temples. When people came to worship, they hit them to awaken the pagan gods so they would listen to their prayers.
Here, Paul is saying that even if he were so blessed that he could speak with the greatest of eloquence in every language, but didn’t have love, then his life was as useless as this ridiculous act of pounding on a gong to awaken nonexistent gods.
Love is more important than any spiritual gift.
B. Then in vs. 2 Paul says that love is more important than knowledge. "If I have the gift of prophecy and I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, ...but have not love, I am nothing."
Paul says that even if you know it all - if you know everything there is to know about nuclear science; if you know everything there is to know about medicine; if you know everything there is to know about philosophy and psychology and theology and every other kind of “ology” - if you know it all, but have no love, then you are nothing at all.
It has always amazed me that when people look at society and try to analyze what is wrong with us, why we’re killing and abusing one another, that those experts always seem to come back with the same answer, "We need more understanding. If everybody understands everyone else then we won’t have these problems anymore."
But I don’t think simply appreciating each other, educating every one about everyone else is the answer, appreciating each other’s differences. I’m certainly not opposed to education. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:1, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." I don’t think we need more knowledge nearly as much as we need more love. We need a whole lot more love, and with more love, our hearts need to change before society will ever change.
And then, Paul says that love is more important than faith. Can you believe that? Paul doesn’t say that faith is not important. He just says that love is more important than faith. He said, "If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
Faith, we are told in the Scripture, is so important that it is impossible to please God without faith. And I trust that all of you here this morning have faith. But what is your faith? What do you believe for sure this morning?
Do you believe that God is the creator of the world? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son, and that He came into our world and lived a sinless life, and that He died and was buried and on the third day rose again? Do you believe that He is now at the right hand of the Father, and is preparing a place for us, and that one day He will come again? Do you believe that the Holy Spirit is our guide and counselor and comforter?
If you believe all those things, then that is well and good and I commend you for it. But the Bible teaches that if you believe all the right stuff, but you do not have love, then you are nothing. Because even faith is of no value unless it is backed up by love.
The priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan had faith. The problem was they had no love. So they walked by on the other side and just left the man lying there to die.
In Galatians 5:6 Paul says, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
Furthermore, love is more important than generosity. Paul says, If I give all I have to the poor...but have not love, I gain nothing.
Now notice that he doesn’t say, "If I give 10%." He says, "If I give everything, if I empty my checking account, if I give all my retirement funds, if I sell my house, if I cash in my insurance policies, if I sit on the corner with nothing left but what I’m wearing, and I’ve given it all away to help the poor, but I don’t have love then I am nothing at all."
The reality is, generosity is not enough. Are you a generous person? I get calls all the time, and I’m sure you do, too, from people appealing for funds for worthwhile causes.
But why do you give? Do you hear a sermon on stewardship? Do you give because you feel guilty if you don’t? Do you give because you want to impress others sitting around you? Do you give because you’re afraid that God will get you if you don’t? Do you give because you think you will get more than you give?
These are all wrong reasons. If the only reason that I give is to receive or to benefit myself, then I am giving out of greed, I’m giving to benefit myself, and then love is absent, and giving is empty. The motive for giving should be love, love for God and love for God’s people.
Then he says that love is more important than what one does. He says, "If I...surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
He is talking about martyrdom. He is talking about being so faithful and so committed to God that you end up dying because of your faith. How deep is your faith? How deep is your commitment? Are you willing to lay down your life for God, if it came to that?
But Paul is saying that even if you go to church every time the church doors are open, if you read your Bible faithfully, if you pray, and do all the things that a Christian person ought to do, but if there is no love behind all that then it is nothing in God’s sight.
So he is saying that love is more important than spiritual gifts, more important than knowledge, more important than faith, more important than generosity, and more important than all the things that you might accomplish for the kingdom of God.
II. THE PRACTICE OF LOVE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
So, love is very important, much more maybe, than we ever realized before. Listen to what Jesus says in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Now notice that Jesus says that this is a commandment, not a suggestion. And God never commands us to do anything that we cannot do.
We tend to think that love is something that just happens to us because that is what we’ve been taught. You fall in love like you fall into a ditch, or you fall out of love like you fall out of a tree. You can’t help it. It is something that just happens to you, it’s ridiculous. Because love is a decision, it is a choice.
ILL. Someone sang a song, "I can’t help falling in love with you." Someone else sings, "You’ve lost that loving feeling." Someone else sings, "I love you. Please tell me your name." That’s really deep stuff, you know.
But the Bible teaches that love is something we can control. God commands us to love each other. Which means, I can choose to love you, or not, and you in turn can choose to love me. So this is not a hopeless situation at all.
Now, what kind of love is being talked about here? In Philippians 2:4 Paul says that he wants us to behave as Jesus Christ behaved. In other words to love in the same way that Jesus loved.
And here is the way Jesus loved. He said, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." In other words, love becomes unselfish. You begin to think about other people and their interests just like you think about yourself and your interests. You become unselfish. Now I want to apply that in several different areas.
Let’s see how that would work in the family. Let’s suppose that someone in every family represented here this morning would say, "I’m going to go home and put this into practice. I am going to love those in my family."
Start with your spouse. You ought to love your husband or your wife first and most. You ought to be kinder, more tender, more gentle to them even if they’re behaving like a jerk. Begin first in your marriage relationship.
Can you see how that would affect the atmosphere of the home? There wouldn’t be any arguing or bickering, no sharp words between each other because their interests are just as important as yours. And pretty soon it filters down to the relationship you share with your children, maybe even your in-laws and your out-laws and everybody else in the family. Just because you love them.
If it begins in the family, then undoubtedly it spills over into the church family, because we all end up here. In fact Jesus said, "By this they shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
That’s the way the world will find out that the message of Jesus Christ is valid. And if we’re really going to love each other the way Jesus loved us then we have to develop in our own lives the same kind of compassion for people that Jesus had.
Finally, we are to let that love flow into the workplace, too. We do it when we show those people who work next to us that Jesus Christ is our Lord, not just with words, but by the example we set.
Jesus said that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
In fact, Paul writes in Romans 12:20 21, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Someone has said, "They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
There is a more excellent way, and that is the way of Jesus Christ. This morning if you are here and outside of Jesus Christ and you don’t know Him as your Lord and Savior, we extend His invitation to you. We pray that you will respond as we stand and as we sing.
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you ’love’ your neighbor but rather act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.” (Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis)
Lewis is saying that we learn to love by practicing love.
We’re all amateurs when it comes to love but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t stop demonstrating love. Practice makes perfect. Practicing love makes us all better at loving.
Col. 3:14 “And over all these virtues put on love…”
I Pet. 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
Loving one another is the greatest thing we can do in life.
Don’t be offensive. Attend to others. Speak your love. Demonstrate your love. “For God so loved the world that He gave….”
Credit to: Melvin Newland and Steve Shepherd, both contributors.
