LOVE's 411

I have had the pleasure and honor over the years of ministry, to officiate at the marriages of numerous family and friends (as well as a few other folks who called the church looking for a pastor to conduct their wedding).  I’d always ask the couple to meet with me in the weeks previous to the event so that Piper and I could share some practical advice and talk to them about the Biblical standards of marriage as presented in the Word of God.  My most often used scripture to conclude the session was and continues to be found in I Corinthians 13:7-8.  I have used various translations from Paul’s well-known chapter on LOVE, but once I discovered the God’s Word © modern verse in Bible School, it has been my mainstay ever since!

The church in Corinth was founded in the midst of the major port city of Greece and was an area that celebrated its worldliness with great enthusiasm in their open displays of debauchery and immorality.  Paul in his communications with the church, had received some troublesome reports concerning certain negative conditions existing in the church. 

It is thought that Paul wrote as many as four separate letters to the church in Corinth to address the needs that he had heard about.  I Corinthians 5:9 speaks of the first letter that was written, followed by what we now know as the Biblical book of 1 Corinthians, a third referred to by Paul in 2 Corinthians in various places as the “severe” letter and the last being preserved as the book of 2 Corinthians.  Both the first and third letters were seemingly lost over the centuries.

The letter known as I Corinthians is largely practical in emphasis and is a classic pastoral response.  Paul masterfully refreshes the congregation in the basic beliefs and doctrines of Christianity and shows them once again, “how to work all the glorious details of God’s saving LOVE into their LOVE for one another”*

Chapter thirteen in I Corinthians is specifically known in Christian circles, as the Bible’s 411 on Christian LOVE.  And of the thirteen verses of that chapter, my favorite summary for any married couple is found in I Corinthians 13:7-8 where Paul writes,

“LOVE never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops expecting, never gives up.  LOVE never comes to an end.”  (God’s Word ©)

Whether a couple is married for one week, 43 years as were Piper and I, or for 60 plus years as were both my parents and Piper’s, this verse is the perfect refreshing encouragement to stand on when things might get a little heated.  It’s also a good verse to hang on the wall in your kitchen as well… but it works best when you not only read it, understand it and agree together upon it… but also DO IT CONSISTENTLY throughout your life together!

I was just glancing over at Piper’s 1976 copy of “The Way” Living Bible Illustrated where she had highlighted portions of this chapter and noticed verse seven, where it declares,

“If you LOVE someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost.  You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”

Well, I know without a doubt, that she definitely did that for me… as I did for her up to the night that she breathed her last breath on this earth.  You know… it really is TRUE!

“LOVE never comes to an end!”

I bet many of you could share some personal experiences on that truth as well!  Have a wonderful week.  Keep walking in LOVE… and as you do… keep EXPECTING God’s best in your life!

 

 

 

*Introduction to I Corinthians from The Message Devotional Bible copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson.