Paul and Love/Love Them Like Jesus/A Tribute to our Soldiers

Yeah, I know this is all I ever write about, but I like what I found so deal with it, haha. I promise this will be the last time in a while.  Ohh btw, I strongly suggest both vids at the bottom, you can prbably just listen to the first one as you read, but you really need to watch and listen to the second one.

The book of 1 Corinthians is actually a letter written by Paul to the church of Corinth. In it he answers various questions he has received, gives insight into the will of God, reminds the member of the church how to lead a wholesome life, gives advice on the matters of the church, and tries to keep the people on track with what is true teaching and what is false. It is in this letter that we find one of the most complete accounts of Christian Love.

The first time Paul mentions love is in the 8th chapter verse 1. He writes "But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church" (NLT). Paul is telling the people of Corinth that, though knowledge is good and will help you in the world, love is what the church needs. Think about it, if you have the brightest people in the world running the church but they have no respect for each other where will that get you? Whereas, if you have a group of people, adept at what they are doing, but not the premier of the world, who all love each other and want the best for each other and the church, just what could you accomplish.

The next time Paul focuses on Love is in the entirety of chapter 13, which coincidently has 13 verses. It is in this chapter that perhaps the most thought out, and full description of what Christian Love should look like is recorded. Paul writes;

1If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. 3If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.

4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

11When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then i will know everything completely, just as god now knows me completely.

The first "paragraph," containing verses 1-3, and the third "paragraph," containing verses 8-10, say pretty much the same thing.  The topic for both is that without love no spiritual gifts are useful.  It takes a love of what you are doing, a love of the people you are doing it for, and a love of the creator who gave you the gift for them to have any effect at all.  The third paragraph goes in more depth saying that eventually the usefullness of spitiual girts will dissapear, but the power of love is eternal.  It says that a day is comping when all things will be known, and the gifts of prophecy and tongues and knowledge will be useless.  it is in the second paragraph(verses4-7) that Paul really goes at it.  He tells us every possible description of what christian love should look like.  He tells us exactly what true love should look like.  In this one paragraph Paul essentially sums up the teachings of the bible separate from the Good News.  

The final paragraph is a little weird.  Paul speaks of a time in the future when everything will  be clear, when we will know everything, when our knowledge now will look like that of a child, but he never tells us when that time is.  I'm not sure I know either, Paul could be speaking of Revelations, or of our time in heaven, or perhaps some future point in our life.  I don't know for shure, though I would assume its one of the former two.  So since we all know what happens when we assume I'll leave it up to someone else to inform me later in my life.

The more attentive of you may have noticed that while introducing Chapter 13 I said there were 13 verses, which is true.  However if you examine the quote of chapter thirteen I only included 12 verses.  Thats because I was saving the best for last.

13Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.