Love surpasses understanding
JOE MILLER JR.
1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

This is the famous "love chapter" that Paul penned. If you have ever been to a wedding, you have probably heard this read during the ceremony. When I perform a wedding ceremony, I always read it. It is a beautifully written piece of prose on which a preacher cannot improve.

Simply reading it out loud is more inspiring than a thousand sermons. It lifts love to new heights and touches hearts in ways that a sermon cannot. However, it really has little to do with "love" as we commonly use the word in our society.

To understand this text, we need to clear away some misconceptions on love as the Bible considers it. Love (in the Pauline sense) has nothing to do with falling in or out; we do not fall in love or fall out of love. When we love, we may have some feelings toward the individual(s) we love, but that is secondary.

Love has nothing to do with the person being loved; that is to say, we do not love someone because they are lovable or deserve our love. Love is what we do because of who we are. We are who we are because God first loved us in spite of our sin. God loves us so much that the Son of God died for us.

Christ died for us because he loves us unconditionally. Love, as Paul

describes it, is about what we do for others, not how we feel about them.

Love is the climax of this letter to the Corinthian church. This church was on the verge of splitting into various groups. Some of the groups felt that they were better than others because of their alleged superior knowledge and wisdom. Paul reminded them that they could only see in a mirror dimly, and would not really understand until they stood face to face with Christ.

Our knowledge and wisdom are imperfect and fleeting and cannot achieve salvation for us. No one in this life understands all the mysteries of God. Since we do not understand everything, there is one thing that we can do … and that is to love. Love God and love others. Do you practice Christian love? Email me at newtonumc@valornet.com with your thoughts.

Joe Miller Jr. is poastor for First United Methodist Church in Newton.