Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.
There are the first four notes of Beethoven’s 5th symphony. There is, “To be or not to be.” in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Then there are these verses everyone has heard at a wedding. They all have something in common. Little attention is paid to the rest of Beethoven’s symphony, Hamlet’s soliloquy, or Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 13. Without this context, we are free to think what we want but if we know the context, we know the first four notes are fate knocking at the door, to be or not to be is Hamlet contemplating suicide, and the love chapter is Paul talking about the Corinthians misusing the spiritual gifts.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow as we gather together in the Lord’s house to learn why context is king. If we know the context, we know exactly what each verse is saying because it connects to the ones before and after. If not, we will default to what the verse means to me. When we love someone, we listen to what they say and mean. If we have true love for the Lord and his word, we will seek to know what he says and means for us.
Dear Lord, thank you for the love you first showed us and that you gave us gifts. Help us to use them for your glory and not our own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church