Love Is...

This is part of a series. Part 1 can be found here.

Now that we've addressed the little side point of the meaning of life, we can return to our discussion of love. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians offers a very interesting commentary on love.

“Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, it does not behave dishonorably, it is not selfish, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it does not rejoice at unrighteousness but rejoices at the truth. Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

This passage is read at just about every wedding. It's a beautiful commentary on love, but it's also a very deep passage. This depth, though, is something many people miss. Analyzing this little passage will take some time, but it is most definitely worth it. Let's start from the beginning.

First things first, let's talk about love. Paul’s choice of word here is very telling. The Greek word is “Agape.” This Agape love was understood by the Church Fathers to be the heights of love, the greatest pinnacle of love. Paul is telling his audience about the perfect love that God has for his people. This is the sort of love that all Christians are called to imitate. This entire passage is describing the sort of love Christians must have for each other.

“Love is patient.” The Greek word here is “makrothyme.” The word actually means a specific type of patience. It's a very patient suffering, ready to bear through everything. A better translation would be “long suffering.” To say that love is long suffering is to say that it is willing to endure anything necessary for the sake of the beloved. This bit
alone speaks to a major issue of today. In much of today's world, love is spoken of as a commodity. It can be taken and used, and when it's out, you toss what you “loved.” Paul is already starting to preach against that. His first statement on the topic is that love will suffer willingly for the beloved. That's point one of love, a willingness to sacrifice.

“Love is kind.” The word here, “chrésteuomai,” is translated well as kindness. It can be more specific, though. The specific kindness is a fullness of service to others. So what does this mean? Love is always willing to do acts of service to another. Like the patient love, the kind love is always willing to lend itself in service. It is to this end that Jesus speaks in Matthew 25 and other times in the New Testament telling us to go out and serve. Again, the love here is described as the love a Christian has for his neighbor.

“Love is not jealous.” This time, the word is best translated as jealous. But what does being jealous entail? Well, jealousy by its very nature assumes the desire for a thing that you believe rightfully belongs to you. In the Old Testament, God is described as a jealous God. Why is that okay for God? Because He is the only God. He is the only one deserving of worship. However, the jealousy spoken of here is an improper desire for something that doesn't belong to you, though you believe it is. Love, though, acknowledges where it belongs and what it has a rightful claim to. Love avoids the anger and selfishness that comes with jealousy. This is what it means to say that love is not jealous. 

I'll continue on with the rest of the verses in the next post on Monday. Sunday, though, we'll take a little break from this series.