Love is Tough

I Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have 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.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection, as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

How many times have I have heard this passage? Probably at just about every wedding I’ve been to. Of course usually the part repeated most often are the “love is” verses. Somehow I feel like I haven’t heard the first 3 verses quite as often. But as I set out to memorize this chapter those are the 3 verses that struck me the most.

According to those verses you could potentially be a really smart person, have wisdom and knowledge and even a huge faith and still miss the point. You could be generous and even offer yourself as a martyr and still miss the most important thing in life: love. Without love, all our efforts and achievements are useless.

Yikes! I don’t want to be that person. I know that I can fall into thinking that I need to do more and be more for God. And yes, I do, but the doing I need to be doing is loving God and others. I don’t need to serve in more places at church or kill myself trying to do it all. I simply need to practice loving those around me. It seems so simple but there is one big thing standing in the way of me actually putting it into practice. ME! I’m constantly thinking about my needs and my schedule and my desires. And while I do need to take care of some things I spend way too much time inward. I know that I am selfish and left on my own that is how I will always be. Thankfully I have God’s Spirit in me to guide me and work in me to rid me of myself. It’s a process.

So I guess the Beatles had it right when they sang “All you need is love…” Unfortunately they missed the part that without Christ it is impossible to even understand what true love is or have any power to love like He does. Thankfully God’s word adds that for us.

Here’s to love, may it grow in us and reflect God’s glory to those around us!