Now If We Were Just Better At It
As we continue through 1 Corinthians this week, Pastor Lisa’s message was about love from Chapter 13, Verses 1-13. She shared that in the English language we use the word love to mean multiple different things. We love our spouse, we love our families, we love our friends, heck, we even love ice cream. Hopefully we don’t love ice cream the same way we love our spouse.
In the Greek language, there are four different words for love. These different words for love were used in the Bible. They are:
Eros – Refers to romantic or passionate love characterized by desire, attraction, and intimacy between partners. It encompasses romantic love’s physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects, the love between husband and wife.
Storge – Describes the natural affection and loyalty in family relationships when expressing love among close family. This love exists between parents and children, siblings, and other family members, rooted in kinship bonds and shared experiences.
Philia (sometimes called Phileo) – Refers to friendship or brotherly love, characterized by mutual affection, trust, and camaraderie. This love exists between friends and companions sharing common interests, experiences, and values.
Agape – The highest and greatest form of love in Scripture: agape. Paul felt he needed to distinguish God’s love from any other, and he defined agape love in 1 Corinthians 13.
Agape represents unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love, which God demonstrates toward humanity.
When we follow Christ, God calls us to emulate and express this love in our relationships with others. Agape seeks all people’s eternal well-being and interests, even at great personal cost.
Paul had just finished calling the Corinthians out in Chapter 12 for arguing and disagreeing about which spiritual gifts were better and who among them was the most important. He explains to them that all the gifts are important … just different.
This is where he goes to Chapter 13 explaining that love should be our guide. It doesn’t matter what our gifts are if we don’t have love.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
He tells us that we will not be here forever, but love will.
With today being 9/11, I think the story of Welles Crowther is a good example of agape love.
On Sept.11, New Yorkers demonstrated extraordinary courage and risked their lives to save others. One of these heroes was the man in the red bandana, Welles Crowther.
When hijacked Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center’s South Tower, people on the 78th floor sky lobby huddled together, frightened and confused. There was no escape as far as they could tell. Then, a man with a red bandana covering his nose and mouth suddenly appeared from the wreckage and smoke. He spoke in a calm voice and guided them to a stairway, leading them to safety. The man in the red bandana made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed.
A few months after 9/11, stories from survivors surfaced about the mysterious man wearing the red bandana. When Alison Crowther read an article about the hero in the New York Times, she knew that man was her son, 24-year-old Welles Crowther. He had carried a red handkerchief since he was a boy. Welles Crowther worked as an equities trader and was also a volunteer firefighter.
Welles Crowther’s bravery and heroism on 9/11 will never be forgotten. As survivor Judy Wein, who was rescued by Crowther notes, “People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did.”
(Additional links to Welles Crowther’s story: ‘Without Him, I Wouldn’t Be Here‘ and ‘Welles Crowther: A Hero Emerges from Tragedy‘)
Welles put others ahead of himself. He sacrificed himself for others.
This is agape love.
There are three important things – faith, hope, and love – the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Christ put us ahead of Himself and gave His life for us. All we need to do is accept that love and we can spend eternity with Him.