Love is Crazy

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.  As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

–1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (ESV)

Chances are you’ve heard that many times before.  In fact, you might have just skimmed through it or skipped over it above.  It’s one of the most popular passages in the Bible; making its rounds at weddings on a weekly basis.  I think about a scene at the beginning of Wedding Crashers where Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn’s characters were betting on whether or not it was going to be read during a ceremony.

In other words, it can become white noise if we let it.  I know it became that for me until I was given a fresh perspective on it last night while reading Crazy Love.  Just as I talked about in the first paragraph, when the passage was quoted, I skimmed over it.  Immediately, the book called me out on it, too.

I can’t remember ever reading a book that doesn’t “make you think,” but straight up shows you what’s up like Crazy Love does.  The author, Francis Chan, invited me to go through the Scripture again, replacing the word “love” with my name, and then re-reading it (e.g. “Matt is patient…”)

Go back to the passage above and give it a try.

Don’t you just love that feeling of “yeah, that’s not me at all” that equating yourself with love brings?  I thought not.

There is only One who is love, and He is God.  He is the only one who can live up to those 10 verses.  Love is crazy like that.

Anything to add?