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“What's Love Got To Do With It?"

Steve Cornell
Award of Outstanding Merit - $1,000

Steve Cornell became founding and senior pastor of Millersville Bible Church (27 years), Millersville, PA. Steve’s ministry includes daily and weekend radio (Focus on the Church and Take 5 with Pastor Steve). He is a correspondent for Lancaster Newspapers Inc. and writes for The Morning Call of Allentown, PA. He is a previous Amy Writing Award winner. Steve received his education from Philadelphia College of the Bible, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (former eastern division in Lancaster, PA), and Biblical Theological Seminary. He and his wife Becky have four adult children, a wonderful daughter-in-law and a great son-in-law.

Monday is Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air. But I hope love is more than chocolates and stuffed animals. Is there a way to know what love is? Is love something we fall into and out of? If someone says, “I love you,” is there a way to know if he’s being truthful? When couples want to get married, they tell me they love each other. When they want to get divorced, they tell me they no longer love. Are we just victims of love? Or, can we train ourselves to love?

Love is indispensable to marriage, family and community. Relationships are miserable when love is absent. But is there an objective way to understand what love looks like? In Scripture, husbands are commanded to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25); Older women are to train younger women to love their husbands and children (Titus 2:4) and communities of Christians are to be distinguished by their love for one another (John 13:35).

The 14 qualities of love listed in I Corinthians 13 offer the best available description of love. To this day, it remains one of the most quoted Scriptures in wedding ceremonies. Reflect deeply and often on this description of love:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (I Corinthians 13:4-8, NIV).

This is God’s prescription for great relationships. Those who practice it minimize conflict because this love is anti-rivalry. Playful rivalry is not bad but when a relationship deteriorates, some form of divisive rivalry is involved.

1) Love is patient: It is long-suffering. It restrains anger when provoked. Patience is more than passive waiting. It is active restraint that rests in God.

2) Love is kind: It reaches out in good will with acts of care and concern for others. Love not only patiently forebears, through kindness, it actively pursues. Loving people are distinguished by their kindness.

3) Love does not envy: It does not resent the blessings of others. Envious people engage in evil rivalry. The envier gloats over the harm or misfortune of the one envied. She delights in evil.

4) Love does not boast: Love corrects the immoderate desire to call attention to one-self. A loving person is not a windbag or braggart. He does not parade himself. Love is willing to work anonymously. It needs no limelight or stage, applause or recognition.

5) Love is not proud: not puffed up; not arrogant; not full of oneself. A loving person does not think more highly of himself than sober judgment dictates (Romans 12:3).

6) Love is does not dishonor others: It is not rude. It is respectful of others.

7) Love is not self-seeking: It does not insist on its own way. It is not self-absorbed.

8) Love is not easily angered: It is not easily agitated nor easily provoked. Loving people are not hot-tempered, short-fused people.

9) Love keeps no record of wrongs: Love seeks forgiveness and reconciliation. When hurt badly, this part of love is hard to practice.

10) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth: This rules out gossip, slander, and delight in the downfall of others.

Finally, the grand finale: Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres. In a staccato of four verbs enriched with repeated emphasis on how love brings everything under its influence, we learn that there is nothing love cannot face. Love is tenacious and faithful. Love is brave and noble; it never fails.

Love is “the most excellent way” (I Corinthians 12:31). “These three remain: Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13). “Over all virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:14).

The personal nature and greatness of love takes on powerful significance when we realize that God is love. His love was put on display when he loved the unlovable – when “we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus offered a living example of love. In Jesus, the Creator became a creature; the King became a servant; the Shepherd became a lamb; the Sinless one was made sin for us; the High Priest became the sacrifice (see: Philippians 2:3-10).

I recommend regular evaluation of relationships based on the 14 qualities of love in I Corinthians 13.

Printed February 13, 2011;  The Sunday News;  Lancaster, PA.

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