It is not an oversight. Paul was speaking of faith just a moment
before. He says, "If I have all faith, so that I can remove
mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." So far from forgetting,
he deliberately contrasts them, "Now abideth Faith, Hope, Love,"
and without a moment's hesitation the decision falls, "The greatest
of these is Love."
And it is not prejudice. A man is apt to recommend to others his
own strong point. Love was not Paul's strong point. The observing
student can detect a beautiful tenderness growing and ripening all
through his character as Paul gets old; but the hand that wrote
"The greatest of these is love," when we meet it first, is stained
with blood.
Nor is this letter to the Corinthians peculiar in singling out
love as the "summum bonum." The masterpieces of Christianity are
agreed about it. Peter says, "Above all things have fervent love
among yourselves." ABOVE ALL THINGS. And John goes farther, "God
is love."
You remember the profound remark which Paul makes elsewhere, "Love
is the fulfilling of the law." Did you ever think what he meant
by that? In those days men were working the passage to Heaven
by keeping the Ten Commandments, and the hundred and ten other
commandments which they had manufactured out of them. Christ came
and said, "I will show you a more simple way. If you do one thing,
you will do these hundred and ten things, without ever thinking
about them. If you LOVE, you will unconsciously fulfill the whole
law."
You can readily see for yourselves how that must be so. Take any
of the commandments. "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."
If a man love God, you will not require to tell him that. Love is
the fulfilling of that law. "Take not His name in vain." Would he
ever dream of taking His name in vain if he loved him? "Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Would he not be too glad to
have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object
of his affection? Love would fulfill all these laws regarding God.
And so, if he loved man, you would never think of telling him
to honor his father and mother. He could not do anything else.
It would be preposterous to tell him not to kill. You could only
insult him if you suggested that he should not steal--how could
he steal from those he loved? It would be superfluous to beg him
not to bear false witness against his neighbor. If he loved him
it would be the last thing he would do. And you would never dream
of urging him not to covet what his neighbors had. He would rather
they possess it than himself. In this way "Love is the fulfilling
of the law." It is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new
commandment for keeping all the old commandments, Christ's one.
Secret of the Christian life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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