Love - part 7
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
Eternity-Inspiration for Tuesday 14th October
Love Part Seven
(1 Corinthians 13:8-10 NKJV) Love never fails. But whether there are
prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will
cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. {9} For we
know in part and we prophesy in part. {10} But when that which is
perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
(1 Corinthians 13:8-10 NRSV) Love never ends. But as for prophecies,
they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for
knowledge, it will come to an end. {9} For we know only in part, and
we prophesy only in part; {10} but when the complete comes, the
partial will come to an end.
Love is greater than any spiritual gift. Love is grounded in the very
being of God which does not change and which lasts forever. Spiritual
gifts are functions which do good now but will pass away. The
spiritual gifts are like this computer, powerful and helpful and
functional - but destined to fade away. Love is like the computer
operator, the person, and has a much more abiding and higher value.
Love is the supreme good and the foundation on which all other good
things must be built. Paul does not mean to despise prophecy or
tongues or knowledge. He valued these things and in the very next
chapter told the Corinthians to value them also (1 Cor 14:5,39).
However for Paul love was the much greater and the abiding good. For
Paul to encounter God was first of all to encounter love, and only
secondly to encounter power. Magicians and idolaters reverse this,
their first encounter is with power (an evil power) and they do not
know true deep love at all but only sentiment and a caricature of
love called passion.
Love abides. Love does not vanish the way power does. It is not soon
outmoded the way knowledge is. Love stays good. To get a handle on
this try and imagine yourself in a million years time ....there you
are in heaven in your resurrection body. Your 80 years on earth now
appear like a 10 second dash on a football field. You are talking
with the other saints in glory. What is important then? Your
knowledge? Your doctorate? The prophecy you gave in church? Your gift
of tongues which you ceased using when you got to heaven? Your
earthly roles? Your bible knowledge - when now you see Him face to
face? No, none of these! Though good things they are temporary. What
will last? Your love, you will still have that, you will still love
and be loved and know even as you are fully known.
Love is complete. "All you need is love." was a Beatles song of the
sixties and in a theological sense that is true. God's agape love is
all we need. Nothing really matters once we know that we are loved
and that good will triumph via love. Love is "the perfect" the full
astonishing presence of God. Love is not "in part" it needs nothing
to make it whole. It is whole, in fact it is wholeness itself.
(Romans 8:37-39 NKJV) Yet in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him who loved us. {38} For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
nor things present nor things to come, {39} nor height nor depth, nor
any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Prayer:
Lord cure us of our "muchness". Of wanting love plus this or that.
Teach us to simply be satisfied with love. Teach our souls to abide
in your love and not to jump around and move out of it. Still us
down so that we can focus on loving and being loved. Let our gifts
and knowledge and tongues and prophecy flow from us as we love Lord.
Yet let us not grasp at them for they are fleeting and will vanish.
Let us grasp for love instead and dwell in You who is love forever
and ever, through all ages, eternal, good and glorious and most
blessed God. Praise Your name! Praise it with all that is within me!
Praise Him who is Love. Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
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