The Greatest Chapter?

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Definitely one of the most oft quoted chatpers of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13 may rank as the most popular passage of Holy Scripture. And well it should. It is not only beautifully written, it is also one of the more accessible passages of the Bible. There is something in it that speaks truth to all people, regardless of what they call themselves. 

Yet in this truth comes a powerful challenge. The love that Paul describes in this chapter is a massive mountain, a fearsome peak that no one can ascend. "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things..." even if we could scale one of these cliffs, the others remain far above us, simply unclimbable. None of us can read this passage and still believe that we are loving. 

It's funny: this past Sunday I spoke on anger, and from that Sunday until today it seems like I've gone from one frustration or disappointment to another. During this time, love, I can tell you, has felt like an obscure, foreign concept, one which I've heard of before, but have no idea how to put into practice.  Bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things...little could sound less appealing to me. 

But something happened to me this morning during my quiet time with God (which I entered into with great difficulty). As I read this passage and as I prayed, I felt Him saying to me, "Let it go. Let it go." I wanted to resist, I wanted to hold onto each annoyance and frustration. I wanted to return every last one of them. I feared that if I didn't stick up for myself, no one would. But, with the sense that I could trust Him, I thought: "Let it go. If there's anyone who knows what to do with it, He does." 

"It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful..." In our world, no one likes an irritable person, but no one likes to be told to stop being irritable either. Yet, in His kingdom, there is another, deeper way. It is the way of faith: specifically, faith in His power, in His justice, and in His kindness. If He says we can cast all of our cares onto Him, then surely He knows best what to do with them.