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 prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a 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)
I love the way this starts, because it sets up everything that follows. Before defining what love is, define why it’s important. And what Paul effectively says is that you can be a good, kind, generous person, but without love, it’s all precisely bubkes (aka nothing).
This kind of love adds value to everything. You may know very ‘good’ people that do not have a relationship with Christ… While I certainly won’t say there is no value to their good works – if they are helping others then that’s definitely a wonderful thing – I will say, as Paul does here, that they are gaining no personal or eternal value if they don’t do it all in love. The good things we do for others are storing up treasures in heaven. Of what value are those treasures if we never get there to claim them?
Love is from God; only through the love of Christ can we get to heaven; and only in heaven will our treasures be stored.
#LoveMatters
#LoveOrBust