“You cannot deny the existence of hell. You live in it. It is a place without love.” (The American)  I found hope in  the words of the priest in The American.  Jack is trapped in a sordid world scarred by sin.  He wants to be free.  He wants to find redemption.  Jack is rich.  He pays for beautiful women.  However, he has nothing because he is not free to love.  When he finally breaks free he receives redemption and justice.  I was reminded of Flannery O’Connor’s heroine who is pursued by Christ, represented by a bull, and finally the bull pierces her heart with one horn and cradles her with the other.

Love is a mystery.  1 Corinthians 13 begins to open it for us.  However, the breadth of understanding of love is only touched on.  God pursues us in ways that are humbling, troubling, and redemptive.  God loves us.

1 Corinthians 13

¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

 ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Questions

1. Which gifts does Paul contrast with love?
2. Which verses describe love?
3. Which virtues remain?  Which is greatest?
4. How could issues in the church be solved by pursuing love?
5. How could you be more loving and bring harmony in your home?

Going Deeper

Use a concordance to find verses where love is mentioned.  Start to read the verses in context to build a better understanding of love.  Famous passages apart from 1 Corinthians 13 are Romans 12 and 1 John 4.