PEARLS OF PAUL
THE LOVE CHAPTER – PART II
DR. JIM DIXON
1 CORINTHIANS 13
AUGUST 15, 1999
King Louis IX ascended the throne of France when he was only twelve years of age. His mother acted as Regent. The year was 1226, and for the next 44 years King Louis IX ruled France. Historians tell us that King Louis IX was the most Christian king in French history. Indeed, most historians believe that King Louis IX was the most Christian king in European history. He had a genuine love for Jesus Christ. He built the St. Chappell in Paris, and it is considered to be a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. He built it simply to express and manifest his love for Jesus Christ. His piety was not false. He married his wife, Marguerite, when he was only 20 years of age. He loved her. He was faithful to her through all the years. Together they had 10 children. Louis IX was renowned throughout Europe and throughout the so-called civilized world for his justice and for his sense of fairness. Even rulers of other nations came to him in the midst of their disputes for arbitration, for judgement, trusting that his judgement would be fair.
King Louis IX died in 1270 at the age of 56. It was only 27 years later, in 1297, that Pope Benefice VIII canonized King Louis IX, and King Louis IX became St. Louis. Here in the United States, the city of St. Louis, Missouri, is named after him, as are other towns across this nation, from San Luis Obispo to St. Louis Rey. Many towns are named after King Louis IX. Some scholars and historians believe that even the state of Louisiana takes its name from King Louis IX. The Louisiana Territory was named by a French explorer, and it occurred when Louis XIV was on the throne. It is commonly assumed that Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV, but the French explorer who named the Louisiana Territory was a man named Rene Robert Cavelier. He took the name Sieur de La Salle . He was a member of the religious order founded by King Louis IX. He lived to honor King Louis IX and perhaps named Louisiana after St. Louis.
In any event, Louis IX was considered to be the saintliest king of European history. Yet despite his saintliness, he did not really understand divine love. For all of his saintliness, for all of his piety, he did not understand the love of God. He did not fully comprehend what the Bible calls agape love, divine love. When King Louis IX was married to Marguerite, his wedding ring was inscribed with three words: “God, France, and Marguerite.” He often said throughout his life that “outside of that ring, he had no love.” He had no love outside of that ring, no love beyond God, France, and Marguerite.
But, you see, God’s love cannot be limited like that. Divine love, agape love, cannot be restricted like that. The love of God encompasses all people. It’s not limited by borders, national or otherwise. God loves all people in all nations. That’s the nature of agape love. That’s the nature of divine love. If you believe in Jesus Christ and you’ve taken Him as your Lord and Savior, then you are called to manifest agape love, divine love. That means love unrestricted, love embracing all people. You’re called to love Communists who live in Cuba and China. You’re called to love Muslims who live in the Middle East and who live in northern Africa. You are called to love gays and lesbians wherever they live. You see, it’s not that you are to love Communism. It’s not that you are to love Islam. It’s not that you are to love homosexuality. But it is that you are to love people. You are to love all people. This is agape love. This is divine love. “For God so loved the world.”
The other forms of love are limited loves. This is true of the other Greek words for love. Eros love is limited. It is romantic love. It’s limited by passion and desire and attraction. Philia love is limited. It is the love of friendship, but you can only have so many friends. Storge love is limited. It is the love of family, but you can have only so many people in your family. You see, only agape love, only God’s love, is unlimited. It embraces all people.
This morning, we examine again agape love as we look at the love chapter, 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. In the first three verses of this chapter, Paul seeks to exalt divine love by means of comparables. He draws three comparisons, and we looked at the first two of them last week. And so, this week on this Communion Sunday when our time is brief, we will examine the third comparable, found in verse 3, where Paul compares love with sacrifice. Paul says, “If I give away all that I have to the poor and deliver my body to be burned but have not love, I accomplish nothing.”
Now, in that verse, 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul describes two types of sacrifice, and these comprise our two teachings this morning. First of all, Paul describes the sacrifice of giving. “If I give away all that I have to the poor but have not love, I accomplish nothing.” If you believe in Christ, you’re called to be a giver. Love, divine love, overflows in giving. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive.” Certainly, as Christians, we are called to be givers.
I read recently a story told by Eugene Peterson. Eugene Peterson authored the book, “Run with the Horses.” In that book, he describes how he was standing by a lake one day. By this lake on the shore there was an old tree. One of the branches of this old tree was barren, and it extended out over the lake. Eugene Peterson looked at this branch that was extended over the lake, and he saw four birds perched right on the end of the branch, three little birds and an adult bird which he assumed to be the mother. They were right on the end of the branch, sitting over the lake. He noticed that the mother bird began to just nudge her way towards the end of the branch, pushing the three little ones closer and closer to the edge. Finally, she pushed her way so far to the end of the branch that the final bird out, fell right off the branch. But before it hit the water, it began to fly. It flew to safety.
The mother continued to work her way towards the end of the branch, and the other two little birds were pushed further and further out. Finally, the second bird fell off the branch, and again, before the bird hit the water it began to fly and made its way to safety. The third little bird did not want to fall. The mother kept pushing, and the little bird kept fighting it. Right at the end of the branch, this bird just kind of allowed itself to flip down underneath the branch so it was hanging upside down by its talons. Then the mother began to just step on its talons. Finally, that reluctant little bird let go and fell, and that bird too began to fly before hitting the water and made its way to safety.
Ornithologists, those who study birds, tell us that that is not uncommon. What Eugene Peterson was looking at was a group of four sparrows, but there are many birds where the mom forces her offspring to fly. Some mother birds actually bring pieces of glass and thorns back to the nest just so the little ones won’t be able to sit in the nest anymore and will be forced to fly. Flying is characteristic of most birds. It’s what being a bird is all about. I mean, birds have feet. They can walk. They have talons. They can cling. But most of all, birds are meant to fly. That’s the air they were born into.
If you’re a Christian, you are meant to give. That’s the air you were born into because you were born into the love of Jesus Christ. Giving is meant to be your nature. It’s meant to be who you are. As a Christian, you’re meant to give of your time, you’re meant to give of your talent, and you’re meant to give of your treasure. It’s meant to be love overflowing within you, love overflowing within me. If a little bird grew up and still had to be forced to fly… If you saw a middle-aged bird, a fully formed adult bird still having to be forced to fly, that would not be natural. Something would be wrong. It’s also true of Christians. If they’ve been a Christian for a number of years but have to be forced to give, something’s wrong.
As parents, we teach our children to give. As Christian parents, we taught Drew and Heather to give even of their allowances. We wanted to teach them to tithe, but when they become adults, we expect them to do this out of their own volition, by virtue of their own decision—not by compulsion but as an expression of their love for Jesus Christ and their love for God. This is part of what it means to be a Christian. When you volunteer your time to the service of this church—maybe you teach Sunday school, maybe you work in the parking lot, maybe you sing in the choir, maybe you go downtown and you work with the inner-city tutors with the little children and with the poor—why do you do that? You see, Paul says that it better be motivated by love. When you gave to the capital stewardship campaign or when you give to the operating budget or when the baskets were passed this morning, if you gave, why did you give? Paul says it better be motivated by love.
In the Bible there are two concepts of giving. Theologians and scholars recognize these two concepts. First of all, there’s contract giving, and then there’s agape giving. Contract giving is based on reciprocity. It’s the concept that if I give, I will receive. If I give, I will be blessed. Contract giving is encouraged biblically. In the book of Malachi, God says, “Bring the full tithes into my storehouse. Put Me to the test. See if I will not open up the windows of heaven for you and pour down upon you an overflowing blessing.” Tithe and you will be blessed. Contract giving, reciprocity.
In the Sermon on the Plain in Luke, chapter 6, Jesus Christ said, “Give and it will be given to you in full measure. Pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, it will be set in your lap. The measure you give will be the measure you get.” Contract giving, reciprocity. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, the Apostle Paul writes, “He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. For the Lord loves a cheerful giver.” Contract giving, reciprocity.
It is biblical to give out of a desire for reciprocity. Contract giving is biblical, but it is not the highest biblical teaching. The highest biblical teaching is agape giving. Agape giving is giving that is motivated by love with no thought of self. Selfless giving. It’s giving that’s just prompted by love of God and gratitude to God with no thought of whether or not you’re going to get something from God. That’s agape giving, and that’s the highest form of biblical giving. You see agape giving in Luke, chapter 7, where Jesus is dining at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. A woman comes into the courtyard where they are eating. She’s a woman of the street, probably a prostitute, but she’d found forgiveness through Christ. She comes into express her gratitude. She falls before Jesus, and she is weeping. She literally washes His feet with her tears, and she wipes His feet with her hair, and she begins to kiss His feet. Then she takes out a jar of costly perfume. Most Bible scholars believe that perfume was the sum of her life savings, and she poured that costly perfume on the feet of the Son of God.
The Pharisee was upset by this, that a woman of the street would even come in and talk with his guest. Jesus said to him, “Simon, when I entered your house, you did not give me water to wash My feet, but this woman has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. When I came into your house, you did not even give Me the kiss of greeting, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet. When I came into your house, you did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with costly perfume.” Jesus said, “He who has been forgiven much, loves much.”
In that little incident, you see that those who have been forgiven much, love much, and those who love much, give much. Those who love much, give much, and its agape love. It’s love that just overflows in giving, and this is the kind of giving that Christ wants to see in your life and in mine. If we give simply in a desire for reciprocity, if we give solely out of contract giving, we may bless others and we may bless ourselves, but with regard to our relationship with God, we accomplish nothing. It must be rooted in love.
There’s a second form of sacrifice that Paul speaks of in this verse, and that is martyrdom. Paul compares love with martyrdom. “If I deliver my body to be burned but have not love, I accomplish nothing.” There are a few scholars who think that Paul is not referring to martyrdom here. They think Paul is referring to slavery. They say that the burning is the burning of branding, and Paul is speaking of someone who sells himself or herself into slavery and then is branded as a slave through burning. That’s a possibility, but it’s not likely. Most Bible scholars agree Paul is speaking of martyrdom here. “If I deliver my body to be burned for the faith as a martyr but have not love, I accomplish nothing.”
We know that in the first century, Christians were martyred through burning. During the time of Nero, shortly after Paul wrote this letter, Christians were wrapped in tar and lit on fire and died by burning. But Paul is saying even martyrdom, even if you’re willing to die for your faith, it better be rooted in love.
I’m sure all of you know that on April 20 of this year, 1999, Cassie Bernall died for her faith at Columbine High School. The students go back to Columbine High School tomorrow. The school opens, and we pray that God will continue to minister in that situation. But it was Cassie Bernall who, on April 20, was in the library when Eric Harris held a gun to her head. By some accounts, Eric Harris asked the question, “Do you believe in God?” By other accounts of eyewitnesses in the library, he asked the question, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” We do not know what he asked. We do know this. She died for her faith. She knew that if she said yes that she would die. She knew that, but she said yes anyway.
Those students who were in the library testified that Eric Harris shouted, “Why?” and then he blew her away, sending a bullet just crashing into her skull. He didn’t really want to know why. If he really wanted to know why she believed in God, she would have gladly told him. Cassie Bernall would gladly have told him why she believed in Jesus Christ, why she loved Jesus Christ. She loved Christ because Christ first loved her, and she had seen the love of Christ through the gospel, and she believed that Christ died for her, and she believed that Christ was the hope of the world, and she gave her life to Christ.
There have been many martyrdoms through Christian history. If you’ve traveled to Rome, you’ve probably seen the catacombs, six hundred miles of mole-like tunnels beneath the earth. Ten generations of Christians for more than three hundred years lived and died in the catacombs. Historians tell us that there were from 1,750,000 to 4,000,000 martyrs during that Roman era who died and were buried in the catacombs, 1,750,000 to 4,000,000, somewhere in there.
During the Dark Ages, historians tell us, 50 million Christian women and men died for their faith—50 million. Most recently in this century, when the Communists took over China, approximately a million Chinese Christian women and men died for their faith. Martyrdom is still taking place in this world. Christians are still giving their life for their faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Well, Paul says it better be rooted in love. I mean I suppose there could be many motives. It might be fear of God that keeps the Christian from denying Christ. It might be a kind of spiritual pride. It could be group pressure, but it needs to be love of God.
It was love that led Christ to the cross. It was love that led Christ to His sacrifice. It was love that led Christ from heaven to earth. It was love that led Christ to Bethlehem and to a manger there. It was love that led Christ to villages and towns in Galilee and Judea where He ministered in love, and it was love that led Him to Calvary, love that led Him to Golgotha, love that led Him to the cross, love that led Him to die for you, and love that led Him to die for me.
As we come this morning to this table and we partake of the bread and the cup, we’re reminded of the fact that as believers in Christ, we’re called to a life of love—that apart from love, in His sight, we accomplish nothing. We’re called to live a life of love, and even, if necessary, to die for love’s sake. It’s all about love. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.