What Does Love Look Like Now?

1 Corinthians 13. It’s the quintessential wedding scripture passage. Chances are that it even sounds familiar to people who have little-to-no interest in the Bible. In isolation from its context, it’s a beautiful passage that speaks of the power of love. Let’s just look at a snippet - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Romantic, I know. But the funny thing is that the author of this passage (the Apostle Paul) didn’t have weddings or marriage in mind when he wrote it. As he did in all his letters, Paul was giving encouragement and instruction to a Christian community that was dear to his heart. In this case, he was writing to a church in the Greek city of Corinth. 

The Corinthian church, like most of the early churches in the first and second centuries, was struggling. With so many competing ideas and faiths out there, they were trying to figure out what it truly meant to be followers of Jesus. Through his letters, Paul helped the church understand who Jesus is and what He has done. Paul encouraged them to stay strong despite religious persecution, and he instructed them practically in unity and moral living.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul wrote about the diversity of gifts in the church. He wanted people to know that not all Christians have the same gifting or passions - and that’s okay! It isn’t more holy to be gifted at leading worship as compared to showing hospitality. Each member of Christ’s body is needed and valued. Instead of a hindrance, diversity is a gift.

In the following chapter Paul emphasized that the number one attribute of a Christian is love, regardless of the diversity of gifts and roles in the church. Even if Paul could summon the ability to speak in the languages of angels (considerable proof of spiritual superiority), he is nothing without love. Everything Christians strive for is meaningless without love. Love is the glue that allows us to stick together despite our differences. 

Romantic relationships aside, 1 Corinthians 13 is for us - those that strive to live out our faith in Jesus within the context of community. The reminder to love is always relevant, especially in times of division and tension, times like the ones we’ve been living through these last two years.

Although people warned me, I never would have guessed that this is where the pandemic would take us. I wasn’t prepared for the many lockdowns and the social and political division, let alone all the stresses that came from the actual virus. For two years we’ve been improvising and pivoting, guessing what the best way forwards would be.

For many people who tried to keep love central, our responses to the pandemic looked different from season to season. At first, it seemed so simple. Loving each other meant staying apart. We didn’t know what this virus could do, and because of the priority to care for the most vulnerable among us, we locked our communities down. Despite the fear of the unknown, we learned new technology to stay connected with each other.

Those first few months were tough. But as we leaned on the scientific and medical community, we began to learn how COVID-19 worked and what it could do. We eagerly awaited vaccines that would slow the spread and prevent serious effects. Then, once they arrived, loving each other meant getting the vaccine - our best shot at collectively ending the pandemic. 

However, from that point on, it became clear that not all of us were on the same page. I’m sure we all know some people who didn’t care about following the health mandates. Some disagreed with how the governments handled things, and others believed there was something more sinister going on. It didn’t take long for us to realize that not all people were going to get vaccinated.

Complex is a good way to describe what life looked like for the second half of the pandemic. We already knew that there would be many secondary effects of the lockdowns on people’s health and livelihood. And since we also had to come to terms with the fact that not all of us agreed as to how to think about and handle COVID-19, the way forward would be risky.

We are now at this point in the pandemic where we need to ask once again what it means to love each other. What does love look like when there are no longer any health mandates and we all need to consider our own risk and comfort levels? What does love look like when families, friend groups, and churches are divided on how, or if, to get together? What does love look like when we are still seeing new variants and we have no idea when this will end?

Well, although I know there are no easy answers, let me suggest that the core of love in any situation stays the same. Even though what it looks like may be different, if we act out of love for God and one another, we’re starting from a good place. So allow me to rewrite the famous love passage for our time. If we want to continue to show love, then:

Be patient and kind, especially to those who disagree with you or who you think have got it wrong. Don’t envy what some are able to do while you aren’t. Don’t boast or be proud when it turns out you were right. Watch that your words don’t dishonour others. Don’t work just for your own interests as if it’s all about you. Don’t allow yourself to be easily angered, but learn to forgive so healing can take place. Don’t delight when your enemies experience evil, but if you rejoice in anything, rejoice in the truth. Always protect one another. Always trust the good in others. Always hope that a better way forward is possible. Always persevere, for we will get through this.

This blog post was inspired by an episode of The MennoCast with special guest, pastor Kyle Penner. You can listen to that episode here: https://themennocast.com/episode-hub/e08.