Hartman column: Love that attends to needs of others God’s kind of Love

One of my all-time favorite comic strips is Charlie Brown, which was created by Charles Schultz.

I love Schultz’s sense of whimsy. One of the strips he drew expressed the thought: “Love is getting someone a glass of water in the middle of the night.” Of course, the illustration accompanying the thought was of Charlie Brown taking Snoopy a glass of water in the middle of the night.

The Apostle Paul also expressed the importance of selfless love in his letter to the church at Corinth. The words of Paul in I Corinthians 13 have a different tenor and cadence than the rest of the letter. Chapter 14 starts where chapter 12 leaves off. This disconnect between the chapters leads some scholars to think Paul inserted these words into his letter, composed them at a different time, or added them before the communication was sent.

I believe this was Paul’s literary device. He wanted to get his audience’s attention and remind them how vital agape love — God’s kind of love — is to everyone who professes Christ. Paul intentionally shifted gears so his audience would take note.

I Corinthians 13:1 opens with Paul reminding us that speaking in the tongues of men and angels without love is meaningless. In chapter 12, Paul corrected the Corinthians’ misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of the gifts that God gave them. He explained that every gift is needed in the church but should be used with agape love and humility.

Gifts and giftedness are never about us; our spiritual gifts and even our natural gifts are meant to draw others to Christ. Suppose you use them to glorify the flesh. In that case, they have a less profound impact on the unbeliever and no eternal reward for the operator.

Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 13:2 to speak hypothetically, demonstrating how worthless spiritual gifts are when attempted without agape love. The Corinthians highly valued their gifts, apparently elevating some among them with gifts as the most spiritual.

Paul is declaring that this is not true. Every gift is significant and should complement the giftings of others. When we each use our giftings, deferring the glory to God and seasoning each gift in agape love, the unbeliever not only takes notice, but we are also building our eternal rewards in glory.

In verse 3, Paul states that even giving away everything or sacrificing oneself is pointless without agape love. To exercise even the most potent and exceptional spiritual gifts without agape love makes those gifts meaningless in the light of eternity.

Schultz expressed agape love in his comic strip about Charlie Brown getting Snoopy a glass of water in the middle of the night. The kind of love Paul talks about in the first three verses of I Corinthians 13 would get someone a glass of water in the middle of the night. Agape love prefers the needs of others.

Let us remember that every spiritual gift is meaningful, but to operate in these gifts or perform any noble action without love is futility. In everything we do, I pray that it is seasoned with love — agape love — God’s kind of love.