Time to Grow Up"
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
It is so easy to get lost in this life.
What did the Prophet Isaiah say in Isaiah Chapter 53?
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to [our] own way..."
This is, essentially, what had been happening at the Church in Corinth--this is what prompted Paul to write the 1st Letter to the Corinthians.
Not only had folks within the church begun to break up and divide into "rival groups" causing division, but some folks were going off the deep-end with what Paul calls "a type of sexual immorality that isn't even heard of among the Gentiles--a man is having sex with his father's wife!"
They have become extremely worldly in their thinking and acting, and so Paul reminds them that "This world's wisdom is foolishness to God."
Some people were bringing lawsuits against other members of the church, others weren't sharing their food at community meals.
And when it came to "spiritual gifts" they were all trying to be number 1.
"My gifts are most important and prove that I am a better Christian than you!"
"I can speak in tongues; you can't!!!"
"My faith is stronger than your faith!"
"I'm smarter than you! I can speak more eloquently."
They were acting like a bunch of spoiled children!!!
But, you know, we've all seen adults act this way, have we not?
Perhaps we have even acted this way at times.
Again, it is so easy to get lost.
So Paul writes this letter to Corinth.
He knows that God has not given up on this Church--no matter how immature and crazy they are acting.
He knows God has not stopped loving them and never will--no matter what.
And that's how it works for all of us.
He also wants them to know that this is no way to live.
He's trying to remind them "why" they became "Christ-followers" in the first place--and He is allowing God to use Him to try and steer them back to their "first love."
He is trying to get them to "grow up" in Christ!!!
In Chapter 3 Paul tells them that when he first came to them he "couldn't talk to [them] like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ."
He says, "I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren't up to it yet.
Now you are still not up to it..."
Have you ever felt this way about your own journey--your own walk with Christ?
Perhaps you started out really gung-ho.
You were on fire for Jesus.
You didn't even think it was possible for you to sin again.
You were so in love with God and other people that you couldn't even imagine acting like a unspiritual worldly person again.
You couldn't even imagine...
...and then, and then...
...perhaps you got tripped up on something...
...maybe you gave in to some old temptation.
Perhaps you had a bad day at work and decided to do something you used to do; act in a way you hadn't acted for a while--just this once.
And before you knew it, you were drifting away from God...
...your love was growing cold...
...your heart was hardening...
...and then the intense and pure love you once had for God and other people started to become perverted, twisted-up, forgotten--lost!!!
And suddenly you found that you were lost.
And you are acting like an infant again!!!
And so you begin to fight with others.
The old insecurities, anxieties and fears come roaring back.
And you are miserable.
And in the state of being "lost" you might not think anyone cares about you.
You might be so busy competing with others, trying to prove yourself, trying impress others that you forget all about Jesus--or what Jesus is really about.
But Jesus hasn't forgotten you.
Jesus will never leave you; Jesus will never forsake you.
As a matter of fact, when we are lost--Jesus goes searching for us--like a shepherd going after a lost sheep.
And when Jesus finds us, He joyfully puts us on His shoulders and takes us home.
Jesus never gives up on us.
And Jesus has not given up on the Church in Corinth.
So, Paul writes this amazing letter to these lost sheep who are acting like a bunch of children--miserable, unhappy grown-up children.
They have forgotten what it means to follow Jesus.
They have forgotten that it's all about LOVE.
It's not about who is the smartest.
It's not about who has the most impressive credentials or who has been given the greatest gifts.
It's not about competing with others.
It's not about "who can pray most eloquently," or who can give the most "entertaining sermon."
It's not about "me, me, me," "I, I, I," or "mine, mine, mine."
It's not about any of this worldly kind of stuff.
So Paul says "I'm going to show you...a better way."
And so he says in essence: "If I can speak a million languages, and even in the language of angels but I don't LOVE--if that's not at the center of who I am--then all those languages and so forth are no better than a whole bunch of annoying noise--like a baby hitting on a bunch of pots and pans!!!"
"If I can tell you about all the mysteries of the world and everything else, and if I have the most unshakable faith imaginable--but I don't have the LOVE of Jesus--I'm nothing."
"If I give away everything I own, and do a whole bunch of other really sacrificial things in order to show off and make myself seem wonderful--but I don't have the LOVE of Jesus in my heart--this stuff is worthless."
And then He tells the Corinthians and us what the love of Jesus is.
And the reason he chooses the specific qualities he does is because the Corinthians are doing the exact opposite.
He says that the LOVE of Jesus is: "patient, kind, it isn't jealous, it isn't arrogant, it isn't rude, it doesn't seek its own advantage, it isn't irritable, it doesn't keep a record of complaints or wrongs, it isn't happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth.
The love of Jesus never fails!!!"
So often, in this world, we confuse the agape--unconditional love of God--with lust.
In our search for that which our souls really need, we stumble across some of the most wicked lies of Satan.
For instance, we have a huge problem in this country with pornography.
And with the internet making it so easy to access, the problem seems to be getting worse.
According to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Research 9 out of 10 young men and 1/3 of young women use porn.
12% of the websites on the internet are pornographic.
That's 24,644,172 websites.
40 million Americans are regular viewers of porn sites.
Porn is a BIG and UGLY Business.
For example, the average life expectancy of a porn performer is 36.2 years old and they have an unusually high number of deaths from drug overdoses, suicide, alcohol abuse and disease.
Between 60% and 90 % of porn performers are living with STDs.
Shelly Lubben is a former porn star turned Christian activist who wrote a book called "The Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn: The Greatest Illusion on Earth."
It's a jolting read.
Shelly writes the following in the intro to her book: "Anyone who would attempt to write a book about their horrific experience inside the porn industry and years of sexual abuse from childhood to prostitution faces an awful task, and requires great love and understanding from the readers.
This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
It took years of pain, preparation and prayer before I could do it.
But by the grace of God I wrote it and now I need you to read it.
I need you to read about the exploitation and violence against women and men in the porn industry so you can begin to heal.
I need you to earnestly understand that every time you click to view a porn site you are contributing to the destruction of valuable human lives.
I need you to read this book through the very last word and then humbly lower your head towards heaven and lament in tears until the only strength you have left is to stop viewing porn."
So often in this world we substitute Jesus' love for some sort of horrific, nightmarish lie.
We get lost.
We forget.
We fail.
The Corinthians were failing; that is why Paul wrote this letter.
"Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things.
Love never fails."
The love of Jesus is a state of being.
It is the reality of God's presence in our lives and the very basis of our humanity.
And our ability to succeed as human beings is completely dependent on the extent to which we live in the love of God revealed in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
If we aren't loving--we aren't truly living.
Without love, we Christians are like the salt that Jesus describes as having lost its flavor; it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot.
Are you experiencing the Love of God revealed in the Cross of Jesus Christ?
Are you living and growing in God's love?
Or are you feeling lost, afraid, broken and down?
Paul says, "Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face.
Now I know partially, but then I will know completely in the same way that I have been completely known.
Now faith, hope and love remain--these three things--and the greatest of these is love."
You know, there is really nothing sentimental or saccharine sweet about the image of love Paul gives us.
Paul isn't talking about thoughtless words pre-written on a Hallmark card.
The love Paul describes is active, it's tough, resilient, and long-suffering.
Every spiritual gift will end.
All the stuff we make and create will crumble to dust.
Our very lives will come to an end.
In this life, we human beings are given the great privilege and opportunity to grow in love, from childhood to adulthood and from immaturity to full spiritual maturity.
We are given the opportunity to thrive in love!!!
And the true and beautiful irony in all of this is that the one thing that lasts forever is the love that is given away.
Love never ends; love never fails.
"As for knowledge, it will be brought to an end.
We know in part and we prophesy in part; but when [Jesus returns], what is partial will be brought to an end.
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child.
But now that I have become a [grown-up], I've put away childish things."
May it be so in my life; in your life; in the lives which are being changed through the ministry of this church and all the churches which claim the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
