History Changing War
War was coming. World events toward the end of the 5th century BC were both a reflection of conflicts past as well as a harbinger of even worse things to come. This time it was a war between Athens and Sparta. A smaller city state, Corinth, made decisions that pushed the super powers to start this devastating, consequential war. Ancient Greece and democracy would never fully recover.
Conflict and inflated egos are much about human power as a motivator. Four centuries later the dominant power was Rome. Corinth was still a significant city. The Christian church in Corinth had been negatively influenced by local culture. The Christian Apostle Paul wrote letters to the people in Corinth. He eloquently described another, even more effective motivator than egocentric power.
A Different Motivator
The different motivator is itself enormously powerful. It changes people by changing the inner core and desire of individuals. A narcissistic and damaged world can be changed by encountering God as love. Not just human love. Humans are created to receive and reflect God’s way of loving. A healthy experience with God leaves a person loving as God loves. God’s love then becomes both a different motivator and a new empowerment.
Unfortunately, the English word love fails to convey how God loves. Paul used the ancient Greek word “agape” to describe God’s life changing love. Experiencing God is experiencing agape. We walk away changed, never to be satisfied to live as before.
Patience
Paul’s writing to the Corinthian people provided a careful and thorough description of God’s love. He began the long list of agape characteristics with the word patience.
Paul used the Greek word for patience that literally means “pain.” One edition of the Christian New Testament translates the Greek word into English with two words “suffer long”. To love as God loves will cause pain. The primary, visceral message of the agonizing death of Jesus on the cross is that agape love hurts. Loving our damaged world will eventually bring hurt. If we stop loving when we hurt it is not agape.
God’s patient love through us can affect every decision and action taken toward another. We can learn from the Corinthians. Nothing else matters to God unless we – people who claim to follow God – allow Him to agape every other person through us.
Picture is of impressive columns from ancient Corinth, Greece.
