The Through Line
If you think about your favorite show, I’m sure there are different plot lines that happen each season. But throughout the entirety of the show, there are major themes or plot lines—characteristics that continue season to season.
These are the through lines.
As we draw this series to a close, studying the book of First Corinthians and how to identify and avoid becoming a messy church, I want us to see that authentic love is the true through line for a healthy church. Christlike love is what ties all of these pieces together.
We’ve seen it throughout this study. The cross, the main thing, is the ultimate proof of God’s love for us. Genuine spiritual growth is promoted by genuine love for God and the things of God. We don’t copy the culture when our love for Jesus is greater than our love for the world. Our freedom in Christ was purchased in love, and we avoid weaponizing that freedom by walking in love. The motivation for using our gifts to serve is our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
A healthy church is held together by love. The question for us is: Are we identified by love? Do people notice us by our supernatural love for one another? If a stranger walked into our church, would they leave commenting on the great band that played? Would they be excited by how much fun they had or how enjoyable of an experience it was? With a remark on the giftedness of the speaker?
We are called to uncommon, supernatural love.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” — John 13:35 CSB
“Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” — 1 John 4:7–8 CSB
The church gets messy when we lack real love. Paul is clear here that we can be the most gifted people, we can live lives of religious piety, but if we lack love, we’ve missed the point.
How do we live with supernatural love? Four things I see that this kind of love does from 1 Corinthians 13:
True love looks around.
1 Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind.” Love takes a breath. True love teaches us not to live in a rush, especially when it comes to judgments of others. Love is not in a hurry.
True love also looks out.
Paul continues, “Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable” (1 Corinthians 13:4b–5a).
Love tells us that it’s not all about us. True love tells us that we should be willing to give up what we want so that others can get what they want and need. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi in Philippians 2:4, “Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.”
True love also looks forward.
It “does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:5b–6).
The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason. While it’s important that our past informs us and that we learn from it, we are not bound to it. True love doesn’t hold grudges. True love doesn’t count favors.
Lastly, true love looks up.
“It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:7–8a). Honestly, up to this point, the love that’s described in First Corinthians 13 is something you could probably muster up on your own.
Verses 7 and 8 are certainly not ones that you can live out in your own power. We can bear some things, but the love of God bears all things. We can have some trust, but the love of God helps us trust God in everything. We have some hope, but God’s love teaches us to always hope for the best. We can endure some things, but God’s love helps us endure without looking back. Our love can last through some things, but God’s love is eternal because He is eternal.
What we need to see is that real love requires the power of the Holy Spirit. If we want to be people of authentic love, we need Jesus.
It’s my prayer that we would be people who are part of a healthy church—that we would build healthy churches, help plant healthy churches, and flourish and grow in healthy churches.
No, the church will never be perfect, but we can choose to walk in love, keep Christ at the center, never stop growing, not copy the culture, live in freedom, and use our gifts to serve others. I trust that God will work out the rest.
Let me exhort you with this verse from Paul’s closing to this church:
“Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love.” — 1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (CSB)
