As we conclude this series, I want us to think about how Christian homes to value charity - love.
The word for love that Paul uses here is "agape," which is "God’s love." It is a love that is unconditional, a love characterized by an attitude which says, "I want the best for you." it is the word used in John 3:16, for example, where Jesus says, in essence, that because "God so ‘wanted the best for us,’ He gave his one and only Son."
This love is unconditional. It is not earned or deserved.
This love is proactive. It takes the initiative to develop a meaningful relationship, instead of waiting on the other party to act first.
This love is sacrificial. It leads to one being willing to give sacrificially of himself for the sake of the relationship.
This love is transformational. Its purpose is to bless and benefit the one who is its object.
As Christians, we should value this kind of love in our homes, love that is unconditional, proactive, sacrificial, and beneficial - the kind of love God has for us.
1. The supreme value of such love - 12:31b - 13:1-3
The value of love is such that without it, all we do is meaningless. Only allowing God’s love to flow between us in our relationships within the family can find true meaning in anything and everything we do. Let’s notice what Paul tells us about the supreme value of love.
A. Love is more valuable than spiritual gifts - v. 1
Paul is says that if God gave him the gift of speaking every human language, & 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?
In the 1st Century, you would find 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.
Paul says that even if he were blessed to speak with great 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 non-existent gods.
B. Love is more valuable than knowledge - v. 2a
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 & psychology & theology & every other kind of "ology" - if you know it all, but have no love, then you are nothing at all.
Many look at our society’s problems and say that the ultimate answer is education. But education, as good as it is, and as much as I believe in its value, is not the ultimate answer. We need more knowledge near as much as we need more love. And the kind of love we need that will change the world is the kind of love that God revealed through Christ, and which He now calls on us to reveal through our lives as believers.
C. Love is more valuable than faith - v. 2b
Paul isn’t telling us here that faith is not important. He just says that love is more important than faith. The Scriptures tell us that faith is so important that it is impossible to please God without it.
But when it comes to the kind of faith that makes life worth living, it must be a faith that responds properly to God’s demonstration of love through the cross - a faith that brings me to a personal encounter with God’s love.
You see, it is possible to have a faith that doesn’t do you any good.
"You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder."
- James 2:19 (NIV)
Demons have faith. But their faith does them no good.
The priest & the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan also had faith. The problem was that they had no love. So they walked by on the other side & just left the man lying there to die. Their faith did them no good, either.
"What good is it, brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?"
- James 2:14 (NIV)
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
- Galatians 5:6 (NIV)
D. Love is more valuable than generosity - v. 3a
Notice Paul doesn’t say, "If I give 10%." He says, "If I give everything, if I empty my bank account, give all my retirement funds, sell my house, cash in my insurance policies, and end up on a corner with nothing but what I’m wearing, because I’ve given it all to the poor, but I don’t have love then I am nothing at all."
E. Love is more valuable than accomplishments - v. 3b
Paul is talking about being so faithful & so committed to God that you end up dying because of your faith. But as impressive as that might be, if there is no love behind it all that then it is nothing in God’s sight.
"Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" - Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
You may ask, "How do I know that whether or not I have a faith that has brought me into a personal encounter with the life-changing love of God?" Well, all I can say is that if you have experienced God’s love through faith in Christ, you KNOW IT! You see, to begin the Christian life, one must experience God’s love; and to live the Christian life, one must learn to express God’s love.
Here’s the bottom line: If I could be made right with God through acquiring a spiritual gift, or by attaining knowledge, or by adopting a set of beliefs or performing miracles, or by giving to charity, or by performing great feats of dedication, then Jesus wouldn’t have had to die. No, by love, He sacrificed Himself so that through faith in Him, I might experience His love, and now, that I have been touched and transformed within by His love, I am to express that love to those He allows me to have a relationship with-my spouse, my family, my friends, my neighbors.
2. The sublime nature of such love - 13:4-7
The world has goofy ideas about love. One is that love is something over which I have no control. That’s why we have songs like, "I can’ stop loving you," and "you’ve lost that loving feeling."
But the wonderful thing about the love that Paul is describing for us here is that the other person’s behavior does not determine whether or not I love them. That determination is made by an act of my will, even as God’s love for us wasn’t determined by our goodness, but by an act of His will. This truth is underscored by the fact that our Lord commands us to love one another. It is a command, not a recommendation!
"A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - 1 John 13:34 (NIV)
How has Christ loved us?
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 2:4-5 (NIV)
Paul is describing a love that is like that which Christ has shown toward us. An act of the will that says, I will think of others before myself.
3. The superior impact of such love - 13:8-13 - 14:1a
Paul tells us that when the kingdom of God has fully come, only certain things from this life will still remain and among them will be faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. In other word’s love makes an impact in the lives of others that will last for all eternity!
Conclusion: During one occasion when we were keeping our two young grandsons, we found that they would get into arguments over a toy from time to time. Often the argument would occur because one had been playing with the toy, then laid it aside, only to have the other pick it up and start playing with it. The first one would notice that and usually say something like, "Hey, that’s mine! I had it first." To which the other would reply, "No! It’s mine!" Our solution to such arguments was to take the toy away from both of them until they could learn to share.
Our heavenly Father uses the same strategy with us. Family life is something He has designed to be a blessing. But whenever family members focus on themselves and their selfish interests, the Lord does what Donna and I did with our grandsons’ toy - He takes the blessing and joy away.
For some of you, the joy and blessing of family life has been removed for some time now. Listen, it will never be restored by your accusing and blaming the other members of your family. It will only be restored if you will accept your responsibility to love them as God has loved you in Christ. So today, won’t you do as Paul encourages us here and "follow the way of love?"
