Only Love Remains

"And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but not love, I am nothing. If  I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." -1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Last night, I was reading over this chapter and these three verses spoke to me in a way that they never have before. Paul lists all of these amazing things that people can do, then essentially says that if love if not the driving force behind them, they are utterly worthless. I mean, just think about how much the Bible talks about the importance of these various things for a minute. Below, I've listed some of the Scripture stating their importance.

Speaking in tongues: 1 Corinthians 14, Acts 2, Mark 16:15-18; Acts 19:6

The Gift of Prophecy: 1 Corinthians 14, Romans 12:6, and more.

Discernment/Knowledge (AKA Wisdom): Okay, seriously? There's a whole book in the Bible dedicated to this topic. See Proverbs.

Faith: Here's a link to 51 Bible verses on faith alone: http://dailyverses.net/faith

Giving what you possess: Proverbs 19:17, Hebrews 13:16, 1 John 3:17, Matthew 6:1-4, and Luke 6:38

Get it? These things are super important to the Lord. And believe it or not, I've only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Scripture on them. There are so many more verses out there. So when Paul tells the Corinthians that each and every one of those things is worthless without love, it should really cause us to stop and think about the depth of value in love.

Just imagine something with me for a second: You're at the end of your life, and you take a moment to look back over all that you've done. Maybe you've gone on mission's trips and built houses for the homeless. Maybe you served every week in a soup kitchen. You could've counseled people for years and helped them to find guidance in financial situations. You might've even sold all that you had, packed up, and moved to the mission field. Now imagine this: You are meeting your Maker, Jesus Christ, the one who saved you. As He shows you what your life has looked like, He tells you that the very thing you did in service to Him is worth nothing, because it was not done in love. How crushing must that be? My prayer is that each and every one of us, myself included, is able to grow in love daily towards every person that crosses our path.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." -1 Corinthians 13:13

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