Love In Action

What an exquisite idyll – what a perfect poem of love! The thirteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is devoted to the praise of Christ-like love.

Dr. John MacArthur has well said: “Love is action – not an abstraction.” True love has been perverted by our modern secular society into lust, or at best, mere romantic feeling. The love described in this chapter is “agape” love, or divine love. It is even deeper than family love or brotherly love. It is a love that chooses to give, to sacrifice, and to compassionate, regardless of whether that love is reciprocated.

Agape love is “love in action.” A church may be very correct in doctrine and even orthodox in practice, but love may be conspicuously absent. Such was the case for the most part with the church in Corinth (See 1:7; 11:2).

If we truly comprehend the beauty, sublimity, and permanence
of agape love, our chief request in prayer would be, “Evermore give us this love.” This kind of love gets the world's attention because it gives legitimacy to our profession as Christ's disciples (John 13:35). This kind of love is divine in its nature and origin, and is the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22: Rom. 5:5).

Let's look a little deeper to see what true love really looks like!