INITIATION:
The Church in Corinth was having problems so they wrote a letter to Paul asking him some questions which they wanted him to answer. It was this that made Paul write the Corinthians to tell them how they should live and act. One of the topics he discussed is what true love is.
True love means “unconditional” love, or “agape love”. This kind of love is not based on feelings. It comes from God, and is different from what people in the world call love. The word “love” as it is used especially by young people is sinful. “Agape” love is divine love. It is the kind of love God wants us to have. It is put into us by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is called the “Love Chapter”. It gives a complete description or picture of love as we shall see in this week’s lesson.
BIBLE PASSAGE:
**1 Corinthians 13:1-13 **
SUBJECT:
WHAT LOVE IS
KEY VERSE:
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV).
AIM:
To help the child learn the true meaning of love, and how he or she as a believer, can show it in his or her life.
FOCUS :
At the cause of the lesson, everyone will show that he or she understands by:
- Explaining how God on one hand, and Jesus on the other, showed agape love.
- Say how he or she, on his or her part, intends to show agape love to someone during the week.
- Take part in discussing what we can do when all our efforts to show agape love have failed
MAIN LESSON DISCOURSE:
1. The Importance of Love (1 Corinthians 13; 1-3):
Every believer has a job to do in the Church. These jobs are all important, but won’t be of much value if they are not done in love. This love is the love that comes from God through the Holy Spirit. It is better to have this love than to speak with the language of angels. It is more important to have this love than to prophesy, and to have faith that can make a mountain move from its positions. This kind of love is more important than having every kind of knowledge. Someone may even sell everything he owns and give the money to the poor, but it is useless if that person does not have love. Without this love, we will not be the children of God. And even if a person gives himself to die for Christ, without this love, it is useless.
Giving out of love is the only way our actions can please God. Some people give because they want to be recognised as kind people. This kind of giving is not done out of love. True love gives without asking for anything in return.
2. The Qualities and Fruits of Love (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7):
“Agape” is God-love, for God is love. It is also God-given love. It has many qualities and fruits. First, it is patient or long-suffering. This means that one who has this love knows how to put up with the mistakes and faults of other people.
This love is kind. It puts the feelings of others before its own. When someone is successful, the person with agape love rejoices and is not jealous. He is happy when good things happen to other people.
A person with agape love is not proud. He does not brag or boast. He does not claim to be best or to have the best. Rather, such a person is humble. Agape love is not rude. It has good manners. It does not abuse or curse other people. Rather, it knows how to respect everybody. A person who has love is not selfish or self-centred. Those who are self-centred make their happiness and well-being more important than those of others. It is not so with someone with agape love. Instead, such a person is willing to sacrifice his happiness for that of others, and to share what he has with others.
Also, those who have agape love do not get angry easily. They do not hold grudges when others treat them badly, They don’t keep records of the mistakes of others. Their interest is not in making others pay for the wrong they have done. Rather, they know how to forgive those who do wrong things to them.
God’s kind of love protects and defends others. It trusts and has confidence in others. It expects positive things, not negative, for others. It keeps on loving without complaining or quitting.
3. The Permanence of Love (1 Corinthians 13: 8-13):
Agape love is permanent. It will continue forever because God who is Love continues forever. Other gifts of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy, knowledge, and speaking in tongues will come to an end. But this kind of God’s love will never come to an end. Our song in heaven will be about the love of God. When we understand this love of God and begin to act according to it, we will no longer be like people who have not been saved from sin. This love of God in our heart will make us perfect like our heavenly Father when Christ comes again. Even faith and hope will cease one day, but not this love. It is the greatest of the three and will continue forever.
God showed us this love by sending Jesus to be our Saviour. Jesus, Himself showed this agape love by dying for the sins of all men, including those men who were cruel to Him. He wants us to have this love too.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
This true story illustrates how one Christian brother demonstrated agape or unconditional love. He was engaged to be married to a sister. But one day, he heard from someone something serious about the sister, That thing would have affected the engagement. The brother called the sister and asked her about the problem. But the interesting part of the story is that he told the sister that whatever it was, he would still marry her. He told her that he loved her and was convinced that God wanted him to marry her. He said that he was asking only because as a human being he wanted to know.
The sister truthfully told the brother everything about the problem. The brother went ahead and married her and even continued to love her in spite of the problem. Later God rewarded this man’s love for the wife by taking care of the problem and blessed the family greatly. This kind of unconditional love is what God wants all of us to have for one another.
The love of God poured into the believer’s heart by the Holy Spirit is greater than, and will last longer than faith, hope, or anything else.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
Monday: Love Your Neighbour (Leviticus 19:18)
Tuesday: Love the Lord Your God (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Wednesday: Love Your Enemies (Matthew 5:44)
Thursday: Fruit of the Spirit Is Love (Galatians 5:22)
Friday: Love Comes from God (1 John 4:7)
Saturday: God Is Love (1 John 4:8).
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