“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” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The Corinthian believers focused on their spiritual gifts, especially the ones that came with public attention. At the same time the church tolerated divisive rivalries, sexual misbehavior and selfishness at the Lord’s Table. Paul put his finger on their major problem in this chapter. Nothing in the Christian life works without love.
Nothing has an emptier ring to it than religion without love. It not only sounds hollow—it is. There is no spectacular display of spiritual gifts that can compensate for a lack of love. Our faith is founded on love. John 3:16 may be the most quoted verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world….” Beyond that truth, the characteristic that identifies us to the world as Christians is love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Maybe you have found, as I have, that this love doesn’t come naturally. We find some people easier to love than others. Where can we get the kind of love God wants us to display? Maybe the best answer was given by Paul in his letter to the Roman Christians. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
If we think others don’t deserve unconditional love, neither did we. We’re here to show the world what God is really like and we represent Him best by loving others.
