Agape in the light of eternity (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

In the book ‘The Brothers Karamazov’, the novelist, Dostoevsky, tells of a wealthy woman who asks a monk how she might know God exists.  He replies telling her that no explanation or argument will ever convince her, but that she will only be convinced when she puts love into action.  To this she admits that sometimes she dreams of living in poverty and serving others.  She had considered becoming a ‘Sister of Mercy.’  But then she confesses that it crosses her mind that people would be ungrateful for her charity.  They would complain about the soup and say that the bread is too hard.  She thinks that she could not copy with the ingratitude.  So, the dream of serving the poor vanishes, and her doubts about the existence of God return.  The monk then explains to her: ‘Love in practice is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.’

We have said that the aim of discipleship is to grow in agape (which in this passage refers to the sacrificial love that seeks the good of the other).  We have also seen that the person of Jesus is our greatest model of this agape in action.  In fact, agape is challenging—it led Jesus to a cross!  So, to foster agape in our own hearts we need to look at Jesus, depend on the power of the Holy Spirit and have an eternal perspective.  It is the eternal perspective that we focus on now.

1.        A lack of love shows us how unspiritual we are

The Christians in Corinth were arguing about spiritual gifts.  They wanted to see themselves as more spiritual than each other.  But their lack of love for each other actually revealed that they were unspiritual.  Rather than boasting about which gifts they had received, they should be seeking to grown in agape.  You cannot separate your growth as a Christian from your kindness and gentleness towards people.

2.        Our lack of perspective shows how unspiritual we are

Another problem was that these Christians were not evaluating things in terms of eternity.  Afterall, they are arguing over things that are temporary.  Spiritual gifts are important in this life, but ‘love never ends.’

The gift of prophecy is important, it can encourage and build people up.  In fact, it can result in people becoming Christians and worshipping God (14:24-25).  But words of prophecy will not be needed after Jesus returns.  In fact, we prophecy only ‘in part’, and our words of prophecy need to be sifted and weighed (14:29).  We also only know ‘in part’.  We don’t know all things.  And, the gift of tongues, will not be in use in heaven.  It is not an ultimate gift, so we should not be fighting about it now.

3.       Only Christ-like love measures spirituality

We are still spiritual children in this life.  But we should always be looking to grow up.  We won’t be perfected until Jesus returns.  I found it interesting that when Paul speaks about childlike behaviour he begins with speech.  ‘When I was a child, I spoke like a child …’  So much of our immaturity is shown in the way that we speak to, or about, other people. 

The apostle John tells us that those with an anticipation of Jesus’ return purify themselves in the knowledge that at Christ’s return they will be perfected (1 John 3:1-3).  An eternal perspective encourages maturity. 

Having spoken of growing from a child to an adult, Paul also uses the picture of a mirror, which in those days were not clear like ours.  ‘Now we see dimly’.  An awareness of our imperfect knowledge should humble us.  Each of us knows imperfectly.  I think that it is important to remember that there may be people who we might not view as being as ‘sound’ as we are, who are streets ahead of us spiritually because they have responded to the knowledge they have of Jesus with loving obedience.

Conclusion

The Corinthians measured maturity in terms of gifts, but Paul wants them to see that agape matters more than gifts.  This is shown in the fact that while spiritual gifts are in place until Jesus returns, faith, hope and agape remain.  ‘And the greatest of these is love’.

‘Love in practice is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.’  So, how can we grow in agape love?  We grow in agape love as we look at Jesus (especially as he shed his blood for us on the cross), ask the Holy Spirit to shape our hearts by what we see in him and look to that day when we will see him perfectly.

As Paul will write in a later letter, ‘we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, as being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).