What is Love?
1 Corinthians 13
It is said that in the 13th century, King Frederick II conducted an experiment intended to discover what language babies would speak if never spoken to. So, King Frederick took babies from their mothers at birth and placed them in the care of nurses who were forbidden to speak within hearing range of the babies. However, a second rule was also imposed: the nurses were not allowed to touch the infants.
To the horror of King Frederick, this experiment had to be terminated quickly. As you may have guessed, the babies grew up to speak no language at all—because they died.
This is what an Italian historian, Salimbene di Adam, said about this failed experiment: “They could not live without petting.” The babies literally died for want of touch.” This proves that, as humans, we thrive when we are loved, and we gradually die without love. It is said that modern science, through controlled studies, has demonstrated that human beings are created to love, and Dr. Ornish, an author and researcher, stated, “You must love and be loved to survive.”
Even scientists know that, as humans, we exist and survive on love and being loved. God is described as Love in 1 John 4:16. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. We will be looking at 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
Verse 1 of 1 Corinthians 13 says, “ 'If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
It speaks to the subject of love, which uses musical instruments and describes them in a not-so-positive way. I can hear a small child playing them out of tune and as loud as possible, and you want them to stop, as they are noisy and have no rhythm. That is how Paul describes those who use the gift of speaking in tongues without the motive of love.
To “have love” means to “act in a way that is loving,” just as to “have prophecy” (v. 2) means “to speak with the prophetic gift”, and to act lovingly means, as in the case of Christ, actively to seek the benefit of someone else.
To further elaborate on this point of the importance of love in verse 2, that even if one performs miracles, is wise and has all sorts of prophecies, but if love is absent, it means nothing.
If there is no love, he maintains, there is nothing of any real value in the gift that I may have. I may be successful; I may get results; I may be admired, appreciated, and applauded – but, as far as God and eternity are concerned, I am nothing.
Paul insists on the necessity of love, for it is love that authenticates spiritual people as truly belonging to the Lord. They are “nothing” without it, even if they possess these amazing gifts that he mentions.
Love is a way of life, a way of thinking, acting, and living. It is, in fact, being Christ-like. Love is a way of life that should affect and influence every aspect of our lives. As Paul reminded us in 1 Corinthians 8:1 that love builds up, he reminds us again that love builds up the community of believers. Love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 as a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus Christ, is focused not on oneself but on the “other” and what is good for them.
In Romans 5:5, this is what he says about love: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us”. This close relationship between love and the work of the Spirit undoubtedly provides a partial explanation for why, in Paul, and in the early church more generally, love is seen as the authenticator or marker of a Christian.
Love is about action, how a person lives for the Lord and obeys him, and how a person lives for others and serves them. As love is a characteristic of God, we should imitate him by loving him and others.
Paul’s description of the action and behavior produced by love is distinctly countercultural. It speaks against the envy, pride, and self-centeredness of the Corinthian Christians, and in doing so speaks clearly to our own generation as well.
In a society where so much is presented in terms of “self to live", a way in which a person lives for the other in a life of loving self-sacrifice is counter-cultural in a world where it's about “me, myself, and I". As Christ forgave our sins and no longer holds it against us, so our love is to hold no record of evil.
Love does not mean being soft or Mr Nice Guy that everyone loves. Sometimes, the loving thing is to be firm and speak out against evil and wrongdoing; we must also preach about holiness, even in uncomfortable areas. Love is not always comfortable, but it is necessary.
Certainly, love is not soft. It will always seek to build up the other, but that does not mean turning a blind eye to sin or failing to call out evil in another person. “It does not rejoice at evil”.In fact, true love, since it is supremely seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will often divide people, for that is what happens as the gospel is preached and lived out.
Work Cited
signs of the times. “Frederick's Experiment.” signsmab.com, Adventist Media, 23 September 2018, https://signsmag.com/2018/09/fredericks-experiment/. Accessed 23 September 2018.
