"Love Endures All Things"

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11) As we move among each other, we have a tendency to sometimes hurt the ones we love. Sometimes it is unintentional; and then again, sometimes it's not. I went to see Jack Black's new movie on Christmas morning, which is called Gulliver's Travels, and before going I had read several of the reviews, both secular and Christian. All of the reviews that I read said pretty much the same thing: no plot, waste of time, big flop, etc, etc; however, they also spoke very ill of the musical number towards the end of the movie, which was when everyone broke out into singing the song, "War! ... What is it good for? ... Absolutely NOT!" Let me tell you something that happen to me during this routine, I cried; not just cried, I wept; it literally came from deep down inside me. Why must we war amongst each other? Why do we set out to hurt one another? It's one thing to gracefully turn away and to go somewhere and pray: Lord, what should I do? But that is too lonely for many to do. Instead, we look for those that we can put on our side; it's the old 'strength in numbers' thing; you know what I am talking about. I relate the stupid things that my wife and I would fight about to this concept, with one more little twist: fighting among each other, no matter how trivial the issue, causes casualties! People get hurt, children loose there self esteem, hearts get scared, and that is just talking about what happens to the family when husbands and wives fight each other. When we take this issue into the church, things are magnified a hundred fold, because now we are talking about the Body of Christ; which, in case you did not know, is One. I know I have covered this subject before, but this is a little different, because this time it's about Love. When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 about Love, he was completing a thought about the Body of Christ, which he started directly talking about in 12:12. It is important that we understand what Paul is trying to get across in the verse I started today's blog with, because when we are the Body of Christ, or if we are part of the Body of Christ, then those things which we did as a child (unlearned), we must not do as a man (one who knows better). For example: one thing that I have learned since becoming a man is that the major characteristic of the flesh is to get it's own way, and the major characteristic of Love is to deny one's self, or one's way. Therefore, if I revert back to my childish ways, then what I am actually doing is to put myself before others, or doing what I have learned not to do. (??????) WHY? (??????) "That there should be no schism in the body; but that all members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular." (1 Corinthians 12:25-27)