| “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and 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.” |
| —1 Corinthians 13:1-3 |
Just a few months ago, on February 14th, most of us participated in a secular holiday that celebrates the love of a man for a woman—sorry, Millennials, but that’s how the holiday came to be. I urge you to see Chaucer’s role in this by clicking here.
Specifically not limiting ourselves to any particular day, we Christians do well to explore the role “love” plays in our spiritual relationships, as well. The most familiar passage of Scripture regarding loving relationships contains these opening words, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and 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.
I have explained several times in various past posts on this blog how the New Testament Koine Greek language actually contains four words that translate into the single English word “love.” In this case, the Apostle Paul uses the New Testament Koine Greek word agape (ah-GAH-pay) throughout this passage.
This is the Koine Greek word that indicates “God-breathed love” or love that flows to us from God. It is not a love that we can conjure up within us. It comes to us purely as a gift from the God who loves us and bestows—I much prefer “breathes”—His love into us because He has chosen us to belong to Himself. Having received this marvelous gift of God-breathed love, it is God’s intention for us, acting as His ambassadors, to manifest this love in all of our interpersonal relationships here on earth.
So, we show this agape love to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to the members of our family, and to every person with whom we come into contact. In a very true sense we are experiencing the reality of the Apostle Paul’s words found in Romans 5:5:
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
As we turn out into the world on this new day, let’s remember that we are God’s “love-bearers.” We carry His love within us and we manifest this God-breathed love in all our interpersonal relationships. We do so as God’s emissaries.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2017
