The greatest gift is love, Paul writes as he ends 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.[1]Love is at the very heart of God and His interaction with humanity. John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.[2]
Out of God’s great love for us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die for our sins on the cross. Love is at the heart of our relationship with God. 1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [3] 1 Corinthians 13:13 lists love, faith, and hope as gifts that will last forever and gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge as coming to an end one day.
Love is the Foundation
Love is foundational regarding the spiritual gifts. These spiritual gifts don’t mean anything if we don’t act in love. 1 Corinthians 13:2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.[4]
As we study 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen, we can see that everything branches out from love, especially God’s love for us and our love for Him and others. If we did not love, we could not build our faith because faith’s foundation is love. Also, if we did not love, we would not have hope because hope is only found in the love of the Lord. Love led Jesus to die on the cross for our sins to rescue us from eternity in hell.
Loving Others
As people, God created us in His image, and He has blessed us with the ability to love Him, others, and ourselves. How do we put the gift of love to work in our daily lives? Sometimes it is difficult to love others, but we can when we ask the Lord to help us. Sometimes showing love is the last thing we want to do. Remember that the Lord loves us even when we don’t deserve it. I must remind myself of that when the Lord calls me to love difficult people. As we walk out the greatest gift of love, it will change our lives and those around us. T
o learn how the greatest gift is love, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/worship-in-love
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 13:13). Tyndale House Publishers.