LOVING FREELY by Kay Kalousek

“Do everything in love.”   1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)

It was an exciting day for the Corinthian church—a letter from Paul had finally arrived!  I can only imagine the anticipation of the members as Paul’s opening words of greeting were read. I’m sure that they also expected considerable praise from him.  He had planted the church a couple of years before and now they were a growing congregation in a prosperous Greek city.

But Paul had some hard words to say to them.  Even though the church looked good on the outside, it was being torn apart from the inside because of different factions that had arisen between groups of Jews and Gentiles that were putting their own agenda ahead of the gospel of Christ.  Paul cited examples of jealousy, arrogance, sexual sins, improper use of knowledge, and even abuses concerning the Lord’s Supper.  There were ongoing quarrels among them and they were not united in their thoughts and opinions.  There were factions and false apostles all trying to enforce their own personal rules, beliefs, and customs on others.  Paul states in chapter 4, verse 15, “You have countless Christian guardians, but you don’t have many spiritual fathers.” (God’s Word Translation)

The bottom line was that the Corinthian church had all of the ingredients for success except the one that was the most important—love. The problems that the Corinthian church was experiencing arose and persisted because the members were in violation of the principle of love.  Without love, they would never be able to find their identity as Christians.  So Paul spends an entire chapter (chapter 13) talking about love.  He makes the case that without love, all of a person’s accomplishments, beliefs, and even spiritual gifts are meaningless. 

In closing his letter, Paul encourages the church by talking about the resurrection and our victory through Jesus Christ. And then, in verse 13, he summarizes the instructions that he has given to them: “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong” and then he again emphasizes the most important point, “Do everything in love.”

Fast forward to today.  Are Paul’s words still true for our age?  Yes, they are more relevant than ever!  Our unique identity as Christians is based on love. 

K.K.

 Think about it:   Have you asked God to enable you to experience His passionate love for you?  Who is God asking you to show sacrificial grace and love to? Are all my thoughts, words, and actions motivated by love?  Will today be different than yesterday if I “do everything in love”?