Wednesday, August 19, 2015

August 20, 2015

"Love never fails" I Corinthians 13:8

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Perhaps you have failed to think like that so that question hits you cold.

Think about it!

In this concluding verse of our Summer Bible Study the Apostle Paul is saying, "Love works every time it is tried!"

Doesn't that sound good?

But you may be thinking, "Brad, I have done loving things and they failed to get the results I expected."

Haven't we all done that? We reached out with a loving deed or gesture and received a rebuke or a rejection or perhaps were ignored. Love rebuffed is very hurtful.

So, how can it be true that love never fails?

For Pete's sake, God did the most loving thing ever when He sent His only Son into the world and His Son was murdered viciously on a cross.    

How can we reconcile that with the Scriptural claim that love never fails?    

The word used for "fails" in the original language was a word used in the theater and referred to a performance that did not get booed off the stage. Apparently in the ancient Greek plays you were a success if your acting didn't get boos from the audience. If you drew boos with your acting then you were judged a failure.

Talk about tough crowds!

If a professional actor gives the best performance he is capable of giving but someone didn't like it, does that mean he has failed?

How many times have you read the critical reviews of a movie or a play and found that several critics rate the performance highly while others didn't like it?

Remember, Paul is writing here to describe God's perfect "agape" (supernatural) love. How many times has His perfect love been rejected or rebuffed?

When God's love gets rejected does that make Him a failure? Does it mean His love has failed?

Hardly!

So, in the context of this Scripture it says this, "Love never gets booed off the stage". 

God is the final critic! He knows when your expression of love is sincere even if others do not.

For example, when you choose patience and kindness over envy, boastfulness or arrogance you have not failed to choose righteousness! Your love has not failed regardless of how it is received.

Loving is about righteousness not about results. 

Therefore, "Love never fails!"