31. Engine room…
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
The dictionary defines love as a strong feeling of affection but somehow this falls far short of the love that Paul describes in the famous Love chapter.
Paul defines both the depth and breadth of love. Without it nothing we can do or say can fully accomplish our purpose on earth. Love is to our hearts what air is to our lungs. Every day you and I go out into our worlds confident that we will be able to do our work, deliver our kids to school, cook the evening meal, do all the things we do without complication. Now imagine trying any of that without any air in our lungs. The closest I can get it to compare this to a person who is constantly on oxygen for illness, who can’t get enough air to survive. This is not a pleasant thing – we all need air and we can’t survive without it. We can’t function without it.
This is Paul’s point – we can’t function without love. Without love in our heart we may as well be dead because everything we do is worthless. Our beautifully crafted words sound like a noisy gong. Our ability to speak words of prophesy or knowledge into the lives of others produces nothing of value. Even our faith, though it be as strong as a mountain, is useless. We can give everything away to the poor, beat ourselves into humility, but without love it is all to no avail.
Paul shows us what our lives would be like if we had no love so we can see the importance, vitalness, of love in our lives. It is the engine that drives all things. It is what marks us as Christians – the love of God living in us and pervading every tiny and big thing we do. Even faith and hope take a back seat to love.
Prayer: I thank you again for the awesome, magnificent love you have shown to me, have planted in me, so that I can function entirely out of that love. May my every action, my every motivation, my every thought, be driven by that love, every day, everywhere, to everyone…
Amen
Action: Today take time out with God to question your motivations for the things you do, the life you live. Are they borne out of love or a desire to appear good, holy, better than others? Is there anything you need to confess before God?
Journal your thoughts…
