Corinthians chapter 13 has always been a favorite reading at wedding ceremonies. Most of us are familiar with St. Paul’s who makes love the foundation of a life well lived. The idea is that without love, no amount of knowledge and wisdom can elevate us from a banging gong. Yet, familiarity breeds complacency to the very radical nature of Paul’s insight about the indispensability of love.
Imagine a life where a boy works hard, is respectful and goes to school and gets good grades. He then goes to college and finds a good job, works hard and moves up. He goes to church every Sunday, one that teaches sound doctrine and has great worship music. He finds a nice Christian woman to marry. They have children. He coaches their kid’s sports team. He manages his money well and supports missionaries. He does everything right. He saves for retirement. He moves up and makes more money, volunteers at various charities. He follows the rules. He takes the Dave Ramsey course on Financial Freedom. He retires comfortably. His kids have children and he becomes a good grandpa. He votes in every election. He wins awards for his service to his community. In short, he does everything touted in our Christian self help industry. The life we should all strive for. Right?
If after all of this, the man has no love, then Paul — rightly so — says that his life was useless. The reality of following a path or a template for the living of our lives means nothing if it lacks love. Love becomes the only measure of a live well lead. While a life above may or may not include love, the lives of followers will be defined by love and the suffering that comes alone with it.
