Love Is the Greatest

I find it amazing that someone like the Apostle Paul, who was never married, wrote 1st Corinthians 13 - a Scripture quoted more than any other Scripture in regards to love. But Paul was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and God wanted us to understand that we are created FOR relationships, created TO love! This Scripture is often quoted during wedding ceremonies for its beautiful definition of love. This Scripture emphasizes the importance of love in our lives, in this life and the next - especially the next. For if we end this life without Christ, we will not enter Heaven and will be separated eternally from ALL love. 

But looking at the whole context, the passage is situated right between two Chapters on Spiritual gifts and how the people from Corinth were not using them correctly. So what were the Corinthians lacking? Love. Paul is criticizing the Corinthians for the lack of love in exercising their gifts. Gifts exercised without love profit NOTHING, and become completely useless to the giver. 

So what does it mean to exercise our gifts with love? Well, we can see that Paul tells us that if we fail in executing our gift-giving(or using our Spiritual gift), it is an indication that our exercise of gifts is lacking love. When we teach, we need to do it in love. If we get impatient in our teaching, we are lacking love. If we trust someone, we must trust them because we love them, not to be gullible. We trust because we know we could ultimately be let down in the end, but the reward is that we might just reach that person for the Kingdom of Christ. Knowledge, tongues, prophecies will pass away, but love will remain. Concentrating on the gifts mentioned in 1st Corinthians 13 while ignoring love makes the other gifts worth nothing. All we do, we must do it in love. 

So what is the problem with us? And how do we apply 1st Corinthians 13 to our lives? Our problems are that we tend to exercise our gifts for the wrong reasons - mostly without love. Love is always for the benefit of others. If we fail in exercising our gifts in the right way, it is an indication that it is done in the wrong way - for self rather than for other people. We can see in Luke's account about Martha and Mary. Here was Martha was serving Jesus and displaying hospitality, but then got mad at Mary for not helping her. So we see that perhaps Martha was only making Jesus feel welcome for her own sake - the approval of Jesus. We can see selfishness in the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who stayed with the father, and didn't run like the younger one did, and when the father welcomed him back home, the older brother got angry. So we see we may be serving others to make ourselves feel important, useful, out of boredom, expecting something in return, to get approval, etc. My motivation for helping others is Jesus. I want to make Him pleased with how I'm living for Him. Perhaps this is for the wrong reason? I don't know, but all I know is that I show love to others because Jesus tells us to do so. So in myself showing love to others, it is just me following my God's example. In doing so, I believe I am exercising my gifts in love.

The lesson is basically this: All we do, keep God as our motivation. Use all that He has given us to serve Him. And while doing so, love. There will be rewards in Heaven based on all that we have done for God while here on the earth. And remember: If we use all of our gifts, yet had done so without love, we have gained nothing.