The Greatest is Love
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
The Bible says that in the last days, the love of many will grow cold because of the increase of wickedness (Matthew 24:12). In these days that we are living in, it can be very easy to forsake love. There are so many things that get in the way of love: fear, judgement, pain, sadness, jealousy, frustration, busyness, etc., but as believers, we are called by God to love.
Many times, we get caught up in trying to change people and we neglect love. Specifically, regarding unbelievers, we can have a list of expectations for them that they have no power to carry out. As I’ve heard it said, we try to clean the fish before we catch it. In other words, we try to sanctify someone before they’ve said “yes” to Jesus. As I’ve been reminded lately, love gives a choice. God gave us a choice: to accept or to reject him. He gave us a free will so that we could choose to worship him for who he is rather than be forced into worshiping him. God gave us a choice, and we need to give others the same freedom to make their choice.
God calls us to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30 – NIV).” Then, he commands us to: “Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31 – NIV).” Who is our neighbor? Anyone who we come in contact with. Maybe that contact tracing would come in handy to help us see just how many opportunities that we have to show love to others. (That was supposed to be funny.)
Jesus also instructs us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). When someone hurts us, the last thing we want to do is show love to them, but that is what God is calling us to do. This depth of love is what shows God’s character to the world, and it’s the same love that Jesus displayed on the cross. It is hard for this type of love to go unnoticed.
I think many unbelievers also have a list of expectations for believers. Unbelievers expect us to take care of the needy and do good. I think a lot of unbelievers also expect to be judged by believers. The Bible says that we are not to judge those outside the church (1 Corinthians 5:12). What if we stopped judging unbelievers and showed them love instead? What if we stepped out to bless someone who curses us? What if we pray for someone to have something that we lost? These things are unexpected. Will we dare to step out in love that is unexpected – a love that shows Jesus died on a cross for us. I’m not saying to go make an enemy just so you can show them love, but I pray that we will all have the courage to show this love when the opportunity presents itself. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in showing love to all, including your enemies.
What is love? How important is love? Let’s read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (NLT).
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”
Will you seek God for a fresh revelation of his love along with me? Let him lavish his love upon you first, and then surrender yourself as a vessel that he can use to show his love to others.
