A Still more Excellent way

Recap

Last week we talked about Spiritual gifts and the importance they hold in our lives.

Really through this entire book, we’ve seen Paul talking about some very tangible things.

Don’t be divisive

Real wisdom comes from God alone

Live a Holy life in the way that we interact with others both publicly and privately.

Run from Sexual temptations

Basically, do everything for the Glory of God, and everything else will iron it’s way out.

This semester, We may feel like we’ve had some pretty insightful and productive conversations about God’s calling in our lives.

But what if i told you that None of that mattered. Not a thing that we’ve discusses this year matters without this one crucial component.

You see, there are some people out there who look at the Bible as a to-do list of tasks that they need to complete in order to get “out of here alive”.

Illustration

A french man by the name of Guillaume Bignon finds himself at a Crossroads. He was in his early twenties, had a specialized degree in computer science, He was a professional athlete in France, and played in a rock band on the side. He was popular, Attractive, and had all of the trophies and achievements one could want.

He had arrived. He had made it. He had done all of the things that he had been told would lead to happiness.

But he found himself looking around and thinking to himself, “Is this it?”

This is the true story. You see Guillaume was an Atheist, and he believed that it was up to Him to find Joy in this life. He approached everything from an academic and “logical” point of view.

But his world was rocked when that cold logic was warmed up by the one thing that we all want. Love.

CIT

Without Love, nothing else matters

Exegesis

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 ESV

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is Uncatchable

We’re all chasing love.

Some of us are chasing it by working hard on the field or in the classroom, because we’ve been led to believe that this is the way that we can gain love and approval from those around us.

Some of us are chasing love by lowering our standards, because we believe that if we don’t “give in” or “relax” then we will be alone.

Some of us just want our families to be normal. “Normal” in the way that we see all of these other families. Able to walk through life together, able to celebrate together, and even able to mourn together.

So what do we do? We Chase after love! We take matters into our own hands, as a first resort.

In these first 3 verses, Paul is continuing his thought from chapter 12, that we studied last week.

He’s talking about all of the different ways to serve in the Kingdom of God. The number of opportunities that he lists is pretty long, but he ends chapter 12 with this sentence. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

which means that even if we do all of these things, there’s still more.

Illustration

When you think of someone who is multi-lingal. What do you think? “WOW!” “That’s So Impressive!” “That person must be smart!”

I’m not sure about ya’ll, but those are things that I think.

I always find it ironic when the person who has a hard time adding single digit numbers makes fun of the international person who’s english is a little choppy. It’s like, bro really!?

It’s cool though to see throughout History that , even in the Bible, people who speak multiple languages are considered extremely smart!

Paul would’ve likely been one of these people. One of those people that when you met him, you just knew that he was smarter than you.

Paul had all of the Degrees, all of the trophies, and all of the experience to be as proud as he wanted to be. To be able to say that he had checked all of the boxes on the checklist of Christianity.

But he says something in Vs. 1-3 that seem so counter intuitive.

He says that

I can be the smartest in the room (speak in the tongues of men)

I can be the most talented (have prophetic powers)

I can be the wisest ( understand all of the mysteries)

I can have all of the faith (as to move mountains)

I can be the kindest (giving all to the poor)

I can be the most sacrificial (giving his own life)

but if I do it out of obligation and not LOVE for the Lord then it means nothing.

Why? because God’s love is Uncatchable. We can’t work for it.

We must receive it, believe it, and replant it into the world around us

Without Love it’s empty.

But what does love even look like anymore?

This is a passage of scripture that is used at weddings all the time! to be honest, i’ll probably use it for a wedding i’m doing in july. but there’s a good reason why. Because of these next 4 verses.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

summed up:

Love is Illogical

Love doesn’t really make sense.

If we were to survey 100 families, how many would point to this passage as the way that their households operate? Very Few. Why?

because all of us are at times impatient, rude, arrogant, stubborn, grudge holding, distrusting, and give up on people to easily.

That’s why love seems so illogical, because we look around and we see people suggesting that they “LOVE” but in that love they are not displaying any of these characteristics.

So the world starts to redefine what love is to make it easier.

but that’s what makes Love, Love. That it is reserved for those in whom we’re willing to do crazy things for.

Like going somewhere to save someone, knowing that you will lose your life in the process.

That’s what Jesus did for us.

Love is Selfless, thus our world deems it Illogical.

Can we Catch it, No. Can we explain it? Not really.

That’s brings us to the question of the night? Can we live without it?

1 Corinthians 13:8–10 ESV

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

Love brings life

BLUE ZONES

Jessica and I watched a show on netflix recently on what are called “Blue Zones”

These are areas around the world in which the people seem to live longer that the average person. They showed one dude in central America herding cattle on his horse, and he was like 105 years old. Another lady was tending her garden at 97, stuff like that. And as they went through the show, they found different reasons for this longevity everywhere they went.

However, there was one thing that seemed to be present in all of the different “blue zones”. Purpose, Community, and Selflessness. All of the ingredients that we’ve seen tonight that make up, LOVE!!

Paul tells us in Verse 8 that LOVE NEVER ENDS! but everything else does.

So as we end our 2024 school year. I encourage you to listen, and hear the words he ends with. Especially you Seniors, as we send you out into the world.

1 Corinthians 13:11–13 ESV

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

As each of you go and as each of you grow. Grow first in Love.

Love God, because He first Loved you even though it doesn’t really make sense for Him to love messed up people like us.

Love People, if they look like you or not. Because God loves them too.

Give out Letters to Seniors