Do not Invest in Vain

 

 

Eric Liddell was immortalized for his surprising gold medal victory in the 400 meters during the 1924 games in Paris. A year after his triumph Liddell went to China where he spent the last 20 years of his life as a missionary teacher and rural pastor. There he ran the greatest race of his life against opponents we all know –difficult circumstances, war, uncertainty and disease. 

Crowded in a Japanese internment camp with 1500 other people, Eric lived out the words from 1 Corinthians 13. He loved and served others in the camp. When he died of a brain tumor in February 1945, one internee described him as a man “who lived better than he preached”. In the most difficult race, Eric Liddell crossed the line victorious through love.

1 Corinthian 13 is often called the love chapter of the Bible. It was written by Paul to a church that prided itself on possessing flashy spiritual gifts but had little love. Paul wrote about the spiritual gifts in chapter 12 and chapter 14. Sandwiched between the two chapters, he wrote about something more precious to God than the exercise of any gift. That is a life flavored by love and a service motivated by love.

What does God say about love? Why does Paul call love the more excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31)? In verses 1-3 Paul says that love is greater than any spiritual gift; the great gifts of speech, understanding and sacrificial service are worthless without love. The most lavish exercise of spiritual gift cannot compensate for lack of love.

Paul says, even if you can speak  with great eloquence  in every language known to man and even angels, if you don’t have love you are merely making a lot of empty noise. If you are a prophet and have the ability to accurately foretell the future and can understand mysterious things that others cannot, but you have no love you are nothing.

If you have great knowledge and deep understanding of God’s word and you can declare it in a powerful, life-changing way but you have no love you are nothing. If you have mountain moving faith (mark 11:23) and faith to ask and receive all things in prayer and receive (Matt 21:22) but you have no love you are nothing.

Giving to the poor is a noble thing to do and it has a wonderful promise (Prov. 19:17). Ignoring the poor has a serious repercussion (Prov. 21:13). Yet not matter the quantity you give or the sacrifice involved, if this giving is motivated by anything other than love it will not be recognized by God. Dying for faith is the ultimate sacrifice. But impressive as it is, without love it’s of no value to God.

These gifts are all from the Holy Spirit and are essential in the Church yet without love the person who has them is “nothing.” Paul warned that impressive gifts and spectacular deeds may be just empty noise and hollow. He declared that the greatest expression of spirituality is love. Do you do what you do out of genuine love for people? Or do you serve out of a sense of obligation?

In the next verses Paul describes for us what love looks like in daily life. Paul defines love in terms of action, attitude and behavior. Love is “long-suffering”, God is long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  We all make a lot of mistakes but God gives us an opportunity to repent. God’s Love in us will show long suffering to those who hurt us because we know we have faults too.

Love is seen in simple acts of kindness. Love is not jealous; it’s not displeased with the success of others. Instead of wishing it had what others have; love helps them to celebrate what God has given without being jealous. Love does parade itself, it can work anonymously. It does not have to have the limelight or attention to do a good job. It serves because it loves to serve not out of the sense of praise. It handles success with humility.

 Love is not puffed up; it is not arrogant and self centered. It does not disrespects or carry a distain for others. It is not blunt; it does not use words that destroy others. It is courteous, tactful and polite. Love does not insisting upon its own rights. It is not demanding, stubborn, or dominating; it is always willing to defer to others. Love is not easily provoked; it’s not given to emotional outbursts and refuses to get irritated.

Love is not touchy and is not so quick to take offense. It does not keep a record of wrongs. It doesn’t write down each injury done and keep the account open to be settled someday. Love takes no malicious pleasure when it hears about the mistakes, and sins of someone else. Love rejoices with the truth and bears all things. Love protects other people; it does not broadcast bad news.

Love does not point out every flaw or criticize other people needlessly, especially in public. Love is always ready to believe the best about people. Love has a positive forward look; it hopes and expects the best. Love holds fast to people it loves. It perseveres and looks beyond the present to the hope of what might be in the future. Love refuses to take failure as final, it never gives up on people but remain faithful to them, in spite of their shortcomings.

If you replace the word love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 with your name (e.g. martin), is this true about you? Martin is patient, he is kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud.  I do not dishonor others, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs.  I do not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I always protect, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

No matter what we might do or endure or give up, if we are not practicing love, then we will not be rewarded for it. Humans look on the outward but God looks at the motive and intentions in the heart. Love is the motive that God expects from his children when they are serving him. Its love which gives value to every deed and every act we do. Love is the foundation of winsome behavior and its influence never ends.

The kind of love we are called to demonstrate must be seen and experienced. It is more decisional than emotional. It is a selfless and unconditional commitment to imperfect people. It’s lavished upon others without a thought of whether they are worthy to receive it or not. It proceeds from the nature of the lover rather than from any merit in the loved.

 Paul teaches that in Gods’ estimation love is everything; if you have love you have everything and if you don’t have love you have nothing. Love is more important than all other gifts not just because it is to endure the longest, but because it exerts a wider influence in the world and without it the kingdom of God cannot stand. 

No matter our age or status in life, we all can strive to love others as God loves them. We love because Christ is living his life of love through us. God is love (1 John 4:6) and if he lives is us (John 14:23) his love will be produced in and through us. His love seen in our lives will mark his presence. God wants his fingerprints on all what we do. Love is the fruit of the spirit and it comes first in the list (Gal.5:22-23) because all the others flow from it.

The smallest loving act can hold eternal significance. For all that we have done and ever will do only love endures. Most of what we think we have accomplished for God will go up in flames on the account giving day because it was not motivated by love (I Cor. 3:13-15. There will be so many surprises in heaven when we discover how much more we‘d have accomplished for God if we had given love more attention than we did.