Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Epiphany MTC
8 Love never ends. But as
for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as
for knowledge, it will come to an end.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, was
responsible for many of the epistles in the New Testament. Paul wrote to various
people that made up the 1st century of believers. To this day,
nearly two millennia later, we reflect upon the truths that he eagerly wanted
to share with the early churches. When trying to understand why he wrote these
letters, we have to take the context into consideration. To whom is he writing?
What truth is Paul trying to reveal?
Difficulties
in Corinth: The people of Corinth did not have
a solid faith foundation. To get some insight regarding their predicament, we
have to look at where they were living. Corinth is situated in present-day
Greece. At that period in history, Greece was a land of commerce, great minds
and cultural diversity. Also, proximity to the seas allowed people to come and
go for trade and business. The early believers essentially stood at a crossroad
in Corinth. Many in Greece identified with pagan beliefs and rituals. The
church in Corinth struggled with its identity. This led to a crisis in both the
marriages and families of Jesus’ followers in Corinth. As a result, the early
church was becoming torn apart in many facets such as lack of love, broken
families, and conflict between the believers in faith. Leaders of the church
saw this situation and decided to reach out to Paul. He responded.
Love is the key: Throughout Paul’s first
letter to the Church in Corinth, he tries to place emphasis on one point in
particular: love. Paul knew what
difficulties the people in Corinth were going through. His answer to their
problems is love from God. However, he does not end his advice there. He goes
into detail regarding what love encompasses. This is seen in verses 4 through
8. Paul wants the people of Corinth to show love to one another, and
additionally, marriage ties into that vision perfectly. God affirms this plan
in the Garden of Eden. He created Eve for Adam and proclaimed that is not “good
for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2: 18). It is not coincidental that
Paul’s words are often quoted in the context of marriages (1 Cor. 13: 4-8).
Through marriage, the early believers in Corinth were able to showcase true
love to people around that did not experience their God. Love acts as a
“cure-all” here. The same principle of love holds true today as well. God’s
plan for our lives is better understood via love and marriage. We can show others
around us how marvelous holy marriage is while showing them what true love is
all about.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, help us to realize that we
are not so different from the early believers in Corinth. We have difficulties
in many aspects of our social, family, and personal lives. We pray that we can
learn to love in a way Paul envisioned for the believers in Corinth. Also, we
pray that through marriage we can love each other properly and help others to
do the same. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Husband and wife become one body with
marriage and also a part of the union of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The fruit of such coexistence is a lasting life of love.