As Paul finished one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament, his inspired pen revealed the answer to life in general and, certainly to the Christian, life specifically. In his inspired treatise on love, Paul concluded, “…the greatest of these [faith, hope and love] is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). What would life be without love? Everyone longs to love and to be loved. The story of Norma Jean Mortenson illustrates this truth quite well.
Norma Jean was one of the most famous people of her time, but her story is one of the greatest tragedies, too. Norma’s mother, due to serious mental illness, often found herself in mental institutions, which made it impossible for her to take care her of her daughter. As such, little Norma spent much of her childhood in foster care. In one foster home, when Norma was just 8 years old, a boarder in the house raped this young girl and then paid her a nickel to keep silent. However, Norma told her foster mother, hoping to get the help she so rightfully deserved. However, heartbreakingly, the foster mother badly beat Norma Jean and told her that the boarder paid good money for rent and Norma was strictly told to never speak a bad word against that man again. As time passed, Norma grew into a beautiful young lady. Norma went to Hollywood with hopes of becoming an actress. Certain Hollywood big shots discovered Norma and promised her that they would make her the most “sizzling sex symbol” in America. Norma changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, and Hollywood’s prophecy came true.
Marilyn became an overnight sensation. As such, she would often make film crews wait for hours as she was “preparing” in her dressing room to perform. What most folks never knew, however, is that her waiting was a time of trepidation and often accompanied by periods of vomiting. Marilyn Monroe was searching for love and could not find it anywhere. After three marriages seeking a man to love her for who she was and not just as a symbol of sex, again, she experienced depression and the feeling of hopelessness. Finally, one Sunday evening, at the age of just 35, Marilyn Monroe took her own life. When her body was found, an “off the hook” telephone was hanging near her lifeless body. Upon further investigation, the Hollywood star had called a friend and said that she had taken enough pills to kill herself. The friend purportedly said, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t care.” Those were the last words she ever heard! Norma did not know what love was all about. She never really loved and was never sincerely loved by anyone, or at least that was her perception. Love is a powerful force!
Love Is a Command
When Jesus was tested by a lawyer as to what was the greatest command, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37–40). Wow, what a command! The entire Law can be encapsulated in one word, love. Paul’s inspired pen did not change the primacy of love either (1 Corinthians 13:1–13). Life without love is unnatural, and even more, it is unbiblical! Paul exhorted the Thessalonian brethren to “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you” (1 Thessalonians 3:12). It is impossible for the devil to reside where true, biblical love abounds!
Love Is a Criterion
So powerful a force is love that God set love as the measure of our Christianity. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7–8). Let that marinate in the mind for a moment. Without love, I cannot really know God! “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). If I step out of love and remain in that location in my heart, God will not remain in me! Love is a powerful force. John then drove this force home. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20). Love for our brethren is the criterion of our love for God. Let us not be deceived; love is not just words. “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
Love Is a Cover
Peter, by inspiration, penned, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’” (1 Peter 4:8). This passage is closely related to Proverbs 10:12, which reads, “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.” ‘Stirring up strife’ happens when someone amplifies and spotlights another’s faults or sins. What kind of person stirs strife? One who does not love, and yes, one who hates! One who loves is not quick to point fingers, accuse and attempt to make others look bad. This harmonizes well with what Paul penned about love, that it “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV), and “does not rejoice at wrongdoing” (1 Corinthians 13:6). I am sure we can think of someone along the path of life who seemed to be happy about a fault or a sin in another. That is not love, for love is a cover rather than an amplifier!
Placing the hands of his watch on the counter, a man asked, “Can this be repaired?” “Well,” the jeweler asked, “Where is the rest of the watch?” The man said, “The rest of the watch is fine, but the hands are not.” “No, no,” explained the jeweler. “It’s not the hands that are the problem, but what’s on the inside that needs fixing.”
If love is not abounding in our lives today, something is broken on the inside. To love and to be loved keeps our lives functioning properly!
