As defined in 1 Corinthians 13, love is a style of life lived in imitation of Jesus Christ that is centered on the “other” and their sound rather than on oneself. There are various ways in which love is described in each of the tests found in 1 Corinthians 13:
Love is action and being
Love is the action that relates to how an individual life for the Lord and complies with him and how an individual life for other people and serves them. On the other hand, love is about being because it is in God who is love and in Christ who shows that affection (ZA Blog). Because being and doing are so tightly linked in God and Christ, first and foremost, but also in his people, Paul refers to love as a “more excellent manner.”
Love is countercultural
Paul’s account of how love produces action and conduct is very countercultural. It screams out against the envy of Christian Corinthians, self-centeredness, and pride, and it communicates openly to our time in doing so.
Love is not soft
Many people think of love as nothing more than being “kind” to everyone. This means that any disagreement, vigorous speaking on critical issues, and firm spiritual discipline or disciplining another are all considered unloving.
Love is Christ-like
Love is a state of mind, a way of acting, thinking, and living. Being Christ-like is precisely what it is. In chapter 9, in his own life, Paul, the author of this letter to the Corinthians, has exhibited what this looks like.
As stated above, particular poems clearly describe love. However, for other poems that include “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” “Shall I Compare Thee,” and “Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds,” images are used to tell the reader about love. These are:
Love does not rejoice in evil
“Love does not rejoice at evil” implies that love is not soft. According to the poem, love is not a gentle emotion. It will constantly attempt to build up the other, but that does not imply it will ignore sin or fail to point out the evil in others (ZA Blog). “Love does not store the memory of whatever injustice it has received,” it means. Instead of clinging to the hurts of the past, love will put them to rest. One of society’s current clichés is that love would tolerate everything, support everything, and refuse nothing. Love is beautiful and thoroughly defined for us in Scripture because God is love, and Jesus masterfully exhibited this to us all (ZA Blog). In this chapter, the New Testament writers, such as Paul, add more concrete details to the issue when he writes that love does not rejoice evil.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Throughout the poem of Shall, I compare Thee; imagery has been used many times. For instance, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s Day?” is an imagery Shakespeare uses to imply adoration to the beloved, therefore, meaning that love is adoring (Kelman & Ilan). The respect for this woman’s splendor is expressed in the following line, which includes the adjectives “beautiful” and “moderate.” Because of the choice of these two terms, this woman’s nice looks appear to be both pleasant and majestic. Before the two adjectives, there is a recurrence of the word “more,” which heightens the effect of complimenting this lady’s beauty.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
The poet uses this imagery in “To My Dear and Loving Husband” to relate to the precious nature of love. In the statement, “My love is such that rivers cannot quench,” the poet compares her love to thirst. In a metaphorical sense, it’s also a reference to physical love (Siregar & Fitri).
Works Cited
Kelman, Ilan. “Editorial introduction: Shall I compare thee to an Arctic day (or night).” Artisticness: Power and voice from the North. London: University College London (2017): pp 1-6.
Siregar, Fitri Ramadani. “The Metaphor Used in Anne Bradstreet’s Poems.” (2019).
ZA Blog. “1 Corinthians 13: Why Is Love So Important?” (2021). Web.