More Love

1 Corinthians 13 has several famous passages and verses in it. The first paragraph explains that doing anything without love is worthless, like "a clanging cymbal". The second paragraph is the definition or description of love: "Love is patient, love is kind..." And the final verse is: "And now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

What intrigues me is the third paragraph in this chapter. It contains this verse:

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

Y'know how we read passages for the millionth time and then God shows us something for the first time? That's what I have going on here, though it may not be a revelation to anyone else. I usually look at and hear about this verse only in the context of maturing as a Christian, but this chapter is all about the love. Maturing as a person and as a Christian actually means becoming more loving. That's no big surprise, of course, but I never realized how this chapter is clearly trying to make that point.

If we are not motivated by love then we still act like children, we still talk like children and we still think and reason like children. Our character and decisions are flawed if they're not based on love.

If we defend ourselves by saying that our actions don't hurt anyone, how is that loving someone? If we blithely tell people to 'get over it' when an issue comes up, where's the love in that? If we prefer to keep to ourselves rather than reaching out, who are we really loving? If we're quick with criticism but slow with praise, how are we speaking in love?

More than that, the Definition of Love in the second paragraph provides one handy way to evaluate our own maturity. If we're mature, then we should be loving. If we are loving, then we must be patient and kind. We must not be proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered and we can't hold a grudge. We must always trust, always hope and always perservere.

More love.