Love... Part 3

Going back to our text in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 we are going to continue on in our series about love.

1Co 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1Co 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
1Co 13:5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
1Co 13:6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
1Co 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1Co 13:8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
1Co 13:10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
1Co 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1Co 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

As we covered the first three verses we were able to see the emphasis that is put on love. It would seem as though love is more important than anything else we can do. Love must come first. We see this in other places in the scriptures.

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
As we can see, it is not a suggestion that we love one another. Jesus spoke those words. Loving is a commandment.

1Pe 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
1Pe 4:9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1Pe 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Here in Peter we also see that loving one another is placed on the top of the list. Did you notice that it says in verse 9 without grumbling?

Loving while grumbling is not loving at all.

We have to come to a point that the desire in our heart is to love one another.
It seems much easier, especially as we continue this study and learn what it really means to love, to just be a hermit and live by ourselves as much as possible. It seems easier if we would just not have any social interaction. People can leave me alone and I will leave them alone. The truth is that can be very appealing to me. I would like to be living in the woods up in Maine so I don't have to interact with others. But that would be in direct disobedience of God. We are commanded as we saw to love one another. We are supposed to be part of a body. If I am by myself then I am not able to do either one of those. That comes back to having a desire in our hearts. How do you get that desire? Be obedient whether you like it or not. Just because you know that you are supposed to do it. Your obedience will be rewarded and loving will become easier and easier.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
Heb 10:25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Don't we all want to be encouraged? Meeting together as we are and one on one and loving one another is what helps us continue in our obedience. As we begin to love others you will start to see them change and become easier to love. If I am nothing but loving, caring and encouraging to my wife she is going to have a hard time getting upset with me. She may even want to be upset with me but if I show her nothing but love then it will stir her up to love me even though she may not like something that I've done. She is not going to respond in the same way then if I were always yelling at her, treating her poorly and calling her foul names. Of course there are some out there that just want to be contentious so this may not be effective to someone who is in rebellion to God or is unregenerate. But that doesn't mean we don't still have to love them. Remember whether we feel like it or not we are commanded to do it.

“Love is an action commanded by God not a feeling concocted by us.”

“Feelings are a result of love...not... love is a result of feelings.”

I spoke on patience last time, next we come to... Love is kind.

Matthew Henry writes this commentary on this...
II.It is kind - chrēsteuetai. (khraste-yoo'-om-ahee) It is benign, bountiful; it is courteous and obliging. The law of kindness is in her lips; her heart is large, and her hand open. She is ready to show favours and to do good. She seeks to be useful; and not only seizes on opportunities of doing good, but searches for them. This is her general character. She is patient under injuries, and apt and inclined to do all the good offices in her power. And under these two generals (Speaking of patience and kindness) all the particulars of the character may be reduced.

Kindness is more than being pleasant or agreeable to others. It is aggressively seeking to do good to another. Kindness does not wait for a chance to act, it searches for a place where it can act. Patience waits to act, kindness does not. This is how we are commanded to love. When was the last time you performed a random act of kindness? Are you looking for ways to be kind to others or are you hiding in the shadows hoping that no one will see you so you don't have to be kind to them? I have been in both of those shoes. Sadly even just in this week. We are not going to be successful at this all the time. Jesus is the only one who is able to love us perfectly. That does not mean that we don't strive to love one another better. There is always room for improvement. If you don't think so, ask a friend or your spouse. I am sure that they can tell you where you are falling short!


I am going to close with our reference in Hebrews.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
Heb 10:25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

My goal today is to stir you up today to do love and good works. Find a reason to be kind. So your sitting here in your chairs saying Dan what can I do? I can't hardly take care of myself right now. What could I possibly do for others? Sometimes just holding someones hand or giving them a smile or telling them that God loves them is more important than anything else they may need. The important thing is that we look, search and desire to find out how we can be kind to others.
Sometimes being kind can be rebuking. If my son is doing something that could hurt him and I tell him to stop that is being kind. Being kind is not just about warm fuzzy blankets and teddy bears. It is loving someone enough that even if they don't want to be your friend anymore you will still tell them that the life they are living is against the word of God and it is wrong.

God bless you as you seek to be patient and kind with one another. May God give us the strength and discernment to administer kindness as would be pleasing to Him.