DAY 2: The primacy of love

In the introduction to one of the Bible’s most well-known passages (1 Corinthians 13), Paul writes, ‘If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.’ Before continuing ‘Love is patient, love is kind…’ Talk about a challenge! We could give all we have to the poor, but without love it would mean nothing?

The sort of love exemplified by the Good Samaritan (see day 1) is a self-sacrifical, ‘love-your-enemies’ sort of love that, if I’m honest, is beyond me most of the time. That’s a bit worrying, given Paul’s challenge. Here lies the key point: all our action and Kingdom-seeking and serving and striving for justice – has to come from love.

Consider Corrie Ten Boom, the watchmaker, writer, and member of the Dutch resistance during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Until the age of 47, she had lived a completely unremarkable life as the world would define it. But by the time the Second World War broke out, she had cultivated such a depth of character that she was able to put herself at great personal risk to help people she had never met before, just like the Good Samaritan.

How do we learn to love? I put this question to Krish Kandiah, and he said: ‘there’s nothing like the practice of just doing it and learning on the job. It’s the commitment to the person, the power of proximity, that forces you to learn. And to continue to learn’.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 (NIV)

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient,love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Reading question:

Can you think of people who love a bit like this? How does it feel to hold this passage together with your knowledge of God’s love for you? And with the calling to love God and love your neighbour as yourself?

Reflection question:

How is God helping you ‘learn to love’?