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No more of that childish stuff! 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 I just turned sixty-four years of age. It’s true. I can prove it, it’s on my driver’s license, I have an AARP card, I have an increasing number of annoying little ailments. Well, at age sixty-four, surely I’ve achieved some level of maturity and wisdom – right? The apostle Paul says: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.(v.11) Do you suppose that it’s time for me to put an end to my childish ways? After all, I really enjoy romping with my granddaughters, laughing, making up nonsense games and songs, laughing, skipping around like a little kid, joking and laughing. Do I have to give that up in order to become a real adult? If so, I have a hard decision to make.  Then again, that may not be what Paul is talking about. When he speaks of childish ways, he may be telling us to come to a greater and more mature understanding of love. Yes, love. Oh, you know about this passage, don’t you? It’s used all the time, and is taken out of context most of the time. We associate it with weddings, for example, and draw the conclusion that Paul is speaking about romantic love in this: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (v. 13) Such an interpretation unfortunately only diminishes Paul’s message.  The love he speaks of will never end. Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will all come to an end, but not so with God’s love. Jesus is the personification of that greatest love. It is that love which we are encouraged to seek, to understand, and to embody in our relationships with each other. That is far greater than romantic love, and without it our professions of faith, our prophecies, our knowledge – all are empty if not infused with the love of God. With that love, we may become patient, kind, open minded, respectful of differences, able to live in hope, and rejoicing in the truth – God’s truth.  Well, need to go. I need to do some more work on becoming an adult and putting aside those childish ways. I think I’ll go and take a good look at myself in the mirror (that’s not always easy to do when you’re sixty four, you know!), and see if I can detect any signs of maturity and wisdom. I keep on looking for signs of Jesus’ presence in that mirror. One can hope, right? Suppose I’ll recognize the signs if they do appear? After that, think I’ll go romp around with my grandkids some more.   - Pastor Piet - January 28, 2007  (you are encouraged to read the scripture passage in its entirety)