By: Henry Knapp
I suspect I can be excused for having wedding “on the brain.” As you may know, my daughter was just married a few weeks ago, and we are still “recovering” from the joy of it all. The entire time was beautiful, God-honoring, a blessing; really, the best wedding ever! (Of course, I recognize that there might be a bit of bias in there somewhere.) In addition to this family event, it is also one of the perks of my job to be able to participate frequently in others’ weddings, either as the officiant or congregational witness. I have seen my share of weddings.
One especially enjoyable aspect of each wedding is the selection of Scriptures to be read and reflected upon. It might be thought that there are only a limited number of good “wedding passages,” and that after a while, they get a bit repetitive; but not so! The “popular” texts are popular for a reason—they wonderfully capture the heart of God at a momentous time like a wedding. The classics are indeed classic; great wedding texts are really great. This is particularly true of perhaps the most famous of wedding texts, 1 Corinthians 13.
You might be familiar with it: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.” Love is so desired, that all else takes a backseat—no matter the importance of a thing, without love, all is meaningless. The Apostle Paul celebrates the majesty of love, detailing love’s qualities. Perhaps you know them:
- Love is patient and kind
- Love does not envy or boast
- Love is not arrogant or rude
- Love does not insist on its own way
- Love is not irritable or resentful
- Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing
- Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things
- Love never ends
No one can read this list and not be overwhelmed by the beauty, the desire and the yearning of it all. And yet, let’s face it, this picture of love is so, so far beyond anything we normally experience as to be…, well, other-worldly. Perhaps love like Paul describes is nothing but a fantasy, something so far out of reach, it is almost beyond our imagination?
Paul’s readers must have felt the same. They must have been captivated by the imagery of a love like this—a love that is patient, kind, faithful, gracious, enduring —and yet also a bit depressed, for who amongst us will ever know such a love? Sure, we can desire such a love, we can aspire to it, but, ultimately, a love like this is far beyond us.
Until Christ. In Jesus we see reality, we see love. Look again at the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. We may yearn for this, we may imagine it, but Jesus lived it, He lives it, He embodies it. A love that is fully and completely patient, gentle, self-giving, sacrificial, everlasting—such a love IS known, it has been expressed fully, it is a reality…in Jesus Christ.
When Paul is challenging his readers to love like this, he is challenging them to live like Christ. The picture here of love is not idealistic, it is real, it exists…, it is Christ. We not only receive this kind of love, but we share this kind of love when we commune with Him. Please join us this Sunday, as we worship our loving Savior together.
In preparation, read 2 John 4-6.
- What causes you to “rejoice greatly” (vs. 4)—that’s a big bill, rejoicing greatly. What events, occurrences, actions cause you to rejoice greatly?
- The Apostle uses the term, “walk,” to describe a life of living truth. What might the metaphor, “walk,” imply here?
- John says that we have this commandment “from the beginning” (vs. 5). The beginning of what? Can you say you have this commandment from the beginning?
- The commandment is not just to “love,” but to “love one another.” How does that qualifier shape the idea of love? What is John asking for here?
- How is love defined in verse 6? How does this definition differ from popular conceptions? How does that difference lead to different actions?