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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

If We Have Not Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."

I think at this point in my life, as a college student, it is so easy to get caught up in learning. My focus becomes so much about my theology and making sure that everything I believe is the truth and than I can scripturally prove it as the truth. I want to learn to teach and disciple and I want to know all the mysteries and knowledge that God will reveal to me. I am trying to prepare myself to be willing to give my life for Him in a foreign country if that is what it came down to, but if I do all those things and it is not out of love for Him and for others then it is all for nothing. All of those things are of upmost importance in my life right now, and I am so glad that God has allowed me and helps me to pursue Him in my life, but I cannot allow that to lead me away from my love of God and my fellow man.

I was reading a book by D.L. Moody about the power of the Spirit and he was walking through the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. He was speaking on love and naturally came around to this verse. He thought that if Christians would meditate on and live 1 Corinthians 13 then Christianity would become the most powerful force in the whole world. I don't know if I completely agree because a part of me feels that as Christians we are supposed to be beaten down and defeated in this world so that our dependence comes solely from Him. I feel like if we were too successful in this world then we would become to tied to this world and lose our focus on Him. However, I think his point rings true in the sheer importance of these verses.

Paul makes love the most important and most needed gift we can possess as Christians in these verses. It is more important than tongues, prophesy, knowledge, and even faith. Not that those things are unimportant but without love they are dry and useless. Our words are clanging gongs and our deeds amount to nothing if we have not love. So I pray for my focus to be on love and I pray for all followers of Christ to focus on love. I pray that our deeds and our seeking of Him would flow out of love for God and for our fellow man because if we have not love, we gain nothing and we are nothing.

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