By Rev. Chris Davis
Pratt Presbyterian Church
Special to the Tribune
A while ago, I was officiating at a wedding, and the couple requested that I use that remarkable passage from 1 Corinthians.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Cor 13:4-7 NIV)
Such wonderful words, and honestly, pretty common words at a wedding. After the service a man in his late 20’s came running up to me – he seemed very excited. He said, “that stuff you read in the wedding was really awesome – that stuff about love, where did you get that.” I told him it came from the Bible, from a part called 1 Corinthians.
He thanked me, and then continued, telling me, that his girlfriend really needs to hear that stuff about love. I told him, “That’s great, but just remember that what it says is really meant for both of you, not just her.”
He looked at me, and then responded say, “no, no, she’s the one that needs to start doing that stuff, I’m already doing it all. She’s the one that needs to change.”
Oh well. You know the more I have thought about it, the more that I think that what this young man did, is really what a lot of us do when we approach some of the challenging parts of scripture. It is very easy to point to someone else and note what they are doing wrong, but it is a lot harder to remember that the Word of God first applies to us. Jesus addressed this very thing when he said, “why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye, and pay no attention the plank in your own.
I hope that as you continue to encounter the great living God, that you will remember that the message that Jesus brings is first and foremost one that is meant for each and every one of us – next time you are tempted to point out the change that someone needs to make, you might just want to start by making that same change yourself.
