Love is the Test

1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

^31bAnd yet I will show you the most excellent way.

^13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Verses 4-7 in 1 Corinthians 13 are often known as “the wedding passage” because they are a beautiful expression of what true love is. They reveal love as generous to others in patience, kindness, respect, honour, forgiveness and truth. However, it is often not recognised that Paul intended these verses as a bit of a rebuke.

The culture in Corinth was very status-hungry. People were focused on trying to rise in honour and, at the same time, help others’ status go down. It seems that God had generously given the Corinthian Christians many spiritual gifts, but the culture of their world was getting in the way. Paul said that they were using their spiritual gifts the way they were used to in their world, to elevate themselves rather than to build others up. Paul is teaching them that gifts are not things for us to be proud of or to perform in front of others so that we look good. Instead, they are given to us to use with all the attributes of love to build up the body of Christ.

Our culture is different, but we still have some of the same pitfalls as those in the Corinthian church. We are blessed that they kept their letter from Paul so that we can learn from it too! For example, I remember someone at church years ago jumping up and down with excitement because “he had healed someone”, rather than celebrating that God had worked through him to bring healing. The difference may seem subtle, but it is profound. The first elevates the self; the second celebrates the love God has for both the person he worked through and for the whole body of Christ.

So, how do I make sure that I am correctly using the gifts God gave me? It all comes back to love. Verses 4 to 7 are my test. Am I being boastful, proud or rude? Or am I being kind, patient, humble and hopeful?

Lord, thank you for giving us such wonderful gifts. But thank you even more for showing us how to love. Please help me to use the gifts you’ve given me for the good of others. Please help me to grow in love.

Written by Megan Cornell