Loving Like Jesus

We call 1 Corinthians 13 the Love Chapter. It is without a doubt the most beautiful treatise ever written on the subject of love. It is often read at special occasions such as weddings. Unfortunately, we can get the wrong impression of these words when we just read them in very special circumstances where we all feel good. It was really written to help loveless people learn how to love. It was written to the kind of people who feel awful because they have just hurt those around them because they didn’t know how to control their anger and their words. It was written to the husband who just walked out on his wife because he was so frustrated. It was written to the wife who has just belittled her husband because she is so disappointed in him. It was written to the parents who have just yelled at their children because they are short on patience.

If you want to see just how loveless you are, then try a test. See how you feel when you fill in your name instead of the word love. I will put my name in as an example.

“Boyd is patient and kind; Boyd does not envy or boast; he is not arrogant or rude. He does not insist on his own way; he is not irritable or resent­ful; he does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Boyd bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Boyd never fails."

(1 Cor. 13:4-8).  Do the same thing for yourself, and you will know how I feel: not very loving at all.

When I read my name in the passage, I am smacked with a reality check. I fall so short of even coming close in any of those areas. Instead of making me feel good, this passage makes me feel terrible. I know one thing and that is if I am going to be able to love like this, God will have to help me do it.

However, when I insert the name of Jesus in the place of love, it fits perfectly.

“Jesus is patient and kind; Jesus does not envy or boast; he is not arrogant or rude. He does not insist on his own way; he is not irritable or resent­ful; he does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus never fails."

(1 Cor 13:4-8).

Jesus is the only one who ever loved this way, and he is the only one who can teach us how to love this way.  Jesus never did anything without love. He even loved his enemies and prayed for those who killed him. We won’t ever know real love unless Jesus introduces us to that kind of love. Without Jesus we are hopelessly inadequate to love others. Because Jesus loves us precisely the way Paul describes, we are empowered to love as he loves us. Remember that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, and there is no greater love than that. Jesus died for loveless people everywhere, and if we let him, he will show us how to love.

Road Building

In the 1970’s, I drove from California to Alaska. When I entered Canada, I had to drive the 1,400 mile Alcan Highway to reach my destination. It was mostly an unpaved, solitary road that allowed me to see some of the beautiful sights as it took me to Alaska. It was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. As important as this road is, connecting Alaska to the lower 48 states, there was another road builder long before who built the most important roads.

He was John the Baptist. Luke wrote this about him, “He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The prophet Isaiah had written these words hundreds of years earlier about John, "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation’” (Luke 3:3-6).

John preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He knew there was a sin problem, and the only way people would be able to overcome this enormous problem would be to acknowledge their sinfulness and repent, and then God would forgive them.

As John preached, the Spirit convicted the people of their sin. There is a close connection between repen­tance and forgiveness. John actually was a spiritual road builder. He helped people flatten out their sinful mountain peaks and fill in the terrible valleys of self-deception so the savior could enter their lives.

Today many preachers shy away from even mentioning the word sin so as not to offend people. However, if we don’t know how to repent, we will never find God’s forgiveness. If the church would repent of its indifference, materialism and selfishness, a wonderful highway of repentance would bring God’s refreshing blessings in our lives.

John's preaching brought a response of multitudes that came out to hear him preach. How this same kind of preaching is needed today because there are so many who need to feel conviction for their sin. Husbands need to repent for being loveless partners in marriage. Wives need to repent for being bitter and resentful against their partners. Families need to repent for hurting each other. Their repentance is a road that invites God’s presence, his forgiveness and his healing.

John told the people to “bring fruit in keeping with repentance”(Luke 3:8). It was dangerous to hear John preach because he brought them into God’s presence. That was both exhilarating and frightening. In God’s presence we all see ourselves as we are, completely sinful and undone. The fruit John was talking about was “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” Gal 5:22-23). This fruit comes from God transforming our lives. It is the fruit of the Spirit, and it cannot be produced through self-initiated efforts but only after we have truly repented of our sinful ways.