1 Corinthians 13 - love

Sunday, we arrive at 1 Corinthians 13, a passage commonly used at weddings. This is one of my favorite passages from the Bible. We so often hear it out of context; our challenge is to hear it within its context. Read 1 Corinthians 12 to hear echoes in 1 Corinthians 13. The gifts mentioned there must be rooted and grounded in love. Love is the better way.

The truly difficult word to understand in the passage is "love". Greek has three words for love: eros (desire), philos (friendship/companionship), and agape (self-emptying, divine). 1 Corinthians 13 uses agape. 1 Corinthians 13 is not a romantic passage. God emptied Himself in Jesus Christ, the ultimate act of this kind of love. How can we seek this kind of love in our lives? Love is the greatest.