Love

1 Corinthians 13 LUV (Leno Unauthorized Version)

If I can speak words of profound wisdom, if I can inspire people to greatness, and if I can sing with a power that brings heaven to earth, but do not care about people, then I am simply a waste of oxygen and a source of noise pollution.

In 2002, Christianity Today presented one of the most troubling explanations of hell that I have ever encountered. The April 22 issue bothered me, but not because of a Jonathan Edwards style description of an angry God. That sort of argument would have been troubling enough but at least internally consistent. The CT article was, to my mind, much worse because it presented the tortures of an eternal hell as somehow consistent with the character of Jesus. In other words, hell is the creation of a loving God.

A map that created reality!

Paul the Rabbi (teacher), was often asked to give directions; not driving or walking directions, but directions for Christian behavior. This is reflected in the first verse of I Corinthians 8. “Now about food sacrificed to idols…!” It was a controversial subject, apparently. And Paul had been called upon to give the rule, the directions, to map out the way to be a good Christian in a pagan context. Paul’s job here was difficult and controversial.