Misunderstanding the love of God.
If you maintain that love is
the driving force behind your theatrical charismatic performance, your
commanding and demanding charades to get God to do your bidding,
manipulating people to give to your cause so you can continue to call
people’s diseases so you can pray for them, your understanding of God’s
love is misunderstood.
1st Corinthians provides the def inition of divine love and then it invites us to share in it. As we read it, it becomes clear that the love described here is more than an emotional response to a person or a thing.
I will take the liberty to place love in two different categories: Grace-Love and Performance-Love.
Simply put, Grace-Love is wholly and solely based on loving without expectation of anything in return. Performance-Love is based on loving to get what you think you need for whatever reason you need what you thin you need.
An example of Grace-Love would be that love which moves a person to work and save for the future well-being of their family, without any expectation of sharing in its benefits; Performance-Love, would be that which motivates a person to love for what they can get from it through the manipulation of the people to provide for the expectations they expect.
As we read 1 Corinthians 13, I maintain that Paul’s definition falls into the category of Grace-Love. In fact, by reading this passage in the context of the Corinthian letter, we discover that Paul was focused on resolving a church conflict, which means that this loving is about practical living, not emotional expectations. That is a very powerful form of love, and I believe that it’s the kind of love that only comes from the heart of God therefore, it is Grace-love.
Performance-Love drives people, but Grace-Love transforms people. Performance-Love drives us out into the world to perform for God and reap the rewards of that performance from people. Grace-Love motivates us to serve the people of the world, the homeless person, and the one who is dying, even though no reward will be forthcoming from the people served. Grace-Love enable people with the power to do what we wouldn’t otherwise consider possible. Grace-Love enables a spouse to stand by the other through serious and even debilitating illness. Grace-Love is demonstrated in the parable of the prodigal son that allows a parent to keep loving and caring for a rebellious child.
Grace-Love enables people composed of very different personalities and needs to stand together as one people. Grace-Love unites the Body of Christ. Performance-Love segregates the Body of Christ. Grace-Love is what allows people to risk their lives for one another. Grace-Love only exists by the infusion of God’s Grace.
Grace-Love swallows Performance-Love and transforms it into expectation-less love. And there’s no better expression of this than the incarnation of Jesus. As Believers we affirm the mystery that God has become flesh and dwelt among us. In Christ, the human and the divine come together to perfectly display the power of Grace-Love.
It is Grace-Love that embraces us and empowers us to love people even as God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, loves people.
1st Corinthians provides the def inition of divine love and then it invites us to share in it. As we read it, it becomes clear that the love described here is more than an emotional response to a person or a thing.
I will take the liberty to place love in two different categories: Grace-Love and Performance-Love.
Simply put, Grace-Love is wholly and solely based on loving without expectation of anything in return. Performance-Love is based on loving to get what you think you need for whatever reason you need what you thin you need.
An example of Grace-Love would be that love which moves a person to work and save for the future well-being of their family, without any expectation of sharing in its benefits; Performance-Love, would be that which motivates a person to love for what they can get from it through the manipulation of the people to provide for the expectations they expect.
As we read 1 Corinthians 13, I maintain that Paul’s definition falls into the category of Grace-Love. In fact, by reading this passage in the context of the Corinthian letter, we discover that Paul was focused on resolving a church conflict, which means that this loving is about practical living, not emotional expectations. That is a very powerful form of love, and I believe that it’s the kind of love that only comes from the heart of God therefore, it is Grace-love.
Performance-Love drives people, but Grace-Love transforms people. Performance-Love drives us out into the world to perform for God and reap the rewards of that performance from people. Grace-Love motivates us to serve the people of the world, the homeless person, and the one who is dying, even though no reward will be forthcoming from the people served. Grace-Love enable people with the power to do what we wouldn’t otherwise consider possible. Grace-Love enables a spouse to stand by the other through serious and even debilitating illness. Grace-Love is demonstrated in the parable of the prodigal son that allows a parent to keep loving and caring for a rebellious child.
Grace-Love enables people composed of very different personalities and needs to stand together as one people. Grace-Love unites the Body of Christ. Performance-Love segregates the Body of Christ. Grace-Love is what allows people to risk their lives for one another. Grace-Love only exists by the infusion of God’s Grace.
Grace-Love swallows Performance-Love and transforms it into expectation-less love. And there’s no better expression of this than the incarnation of Jesus. As Believers we affirm the mystery that God has become flesh and dwelt among us. In Christ, the human and the divine come together to perfectly display the power of Grace-Love.
It is Grace-Love that embraces us and empowers us to love people even as God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, loves people.
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