Today we’ll read two of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. Of course, if you’ve been listening to the LSFB for long, you know that I have several favorite chapters, right?

Let’s discuss both chapters just a little.

In chapter 12, Paul is addressing another issue that is bringing this argumentative Corinthian church another reason for divisions. And unfortunately, the division of a church over disagreements about spiritual gifts didn’t end with them.

When I was a teenager, I give my heart to the Lord when I was attending a very traditional Southern Baptist church. I loved the people there, and I loved the pastor. But I don’t remember ever hearing a word about spiritual gifts. When I first got married and moved away from home, I began attending a little community church in the city of Mammoth Lakes. This church had just undergone a split over disagreements about spiritual gifts. I had no idea what they were even talking about. But the new pastor, who had been brought in to replace the pastor who left, preached a series of sermons about the various gifts of the Spirit. He did such a great job, backed up by scriptures like 1 Corinthians 12, that my own theology on the subject was shaped then and hasn’t changed a lot over the ensuing years. In a nutshell, Paul taught the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to different people as He chooses. They all have value, just as each part of the body has value. He taught them that it is silly to argue about what part of the body is better, and it’s silly to fight over what gift is better.

And then in the 13th chapter, which is often called the “Love Chapter”, Paul continues addressing the church in regards to division and gifts. What he tells them is that it doesn’t matter what gift you have if you don’t have love. If there is love, you won’t have the problem fighting over who has what gift or which gift is better. And to make it clear, he delineates what love looks like. Love is not that mushy feeling of butterflies in your stomach you got with your first high school crush. Love is much more that that, and Paul is very specific about what it is. I hate to even begin to boil it down into just a few words, because his description is so dead on, but I’ll do it anyway. Love is not about what makes me feel good. Love is about what I can do for the benefit of the object of my love. Even when it’s difficult, or when that other person is unloveable. Love keeps going.

And I could keep going on this subject for an hour. But my agreement with you is that the show is around ten minutes. So, I’ll just say that I pray your weekend will be filled with love. The kind of love that benefits others. And I pray that you might be the object of that kind of love from someone, too. Already, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Savior loves you that way. He always has, and He always will.

Have a comment? Tell me your thoughts below.