Paul of Tarsus, ca. 53
These beliefs about love suggest a spiritual state rather than a simple, fleeting emotion. After all, who can't point to a love that did not endure or that let us down?
Paul is lifting up a vision of what it is that we encounter when we engage in the love of Christ. We seek to approach this love in the best of our relationships. But we are bound to sometimes fail those whom we love the most.
What happens then?
If love were one-sided, then we would simply let the relationship go and we would be solitary once more.
But love is not simply something I do but it is something in which we dwell.
When we are weak, love allows the other to be strong on our behalf.
If we engage love with integrity, we don't allow ourselves to be weak all the time. Rather, we share strength as often as we can.
But what if there are times when we are both weak?
In this instance, we have to trust in God to be strong enough for the both of us.
These are good reminders of how we are to be the church. Paul was writing to Corinth and they had their share of problems. Paul was reminding them of the very thing that binds them together when they falsely concluded that they were done with each other.
Sometimes in our weakest moments, God touches us and we remember who we are on our best days.
If this is not salvation, I don't know what is.
In Christ,
Sam
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| Sometimes we carry our friends and sometimes our friends carry us. |
Picture by Jocelyn Augustino (This image is from the FEMA Photo Library.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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