4ANEWDAY

“Love is the Greatest”

“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.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Hear the Apostle Paul express that having all things, without Love, means nothing. Love is the greatest of all things! Love demonstrates the ultimate purpose of our human existence. God’s Love for us is the reason the world exists and why He wants to spend eternity with us.

Even today, we as a society are still confused about Love, often confusing Love and lust. Unlike lust, God’s kind of Love is directed outwardly, towards others, not inwardly towards ourselves. It is completely unselfish, going against our natural inclinations. And this kind of Love is impossible to have without God’s help in setting aside our natural desires so that we can love without the expectation of anything in return.

Love is the greatest of all human qualities and is the very essence of God Himself and His character.

As the Apostle John expresses in 1 John 4:16-17, “God is Love, and all who live in Love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our Love grows more perfect.”

We can not manufacture this complete(perfect) Love; we gain it only through the Holy Spirit, as (Romans 5:5) states, “For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”

This Love is an action that goes beyond words; it involves unselfish service to others. “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.”

It is from this ultimate act of Love that God shows us that “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

As faith is the foundation and content of God’s message to us, hope is the attitude and focus; Love is the action. When faith and hope are in line, we are free to love completely (perfectly) because we understand how God loves.

Although we can never love perfectly, only Jesus can love perfectly. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more of His perfect Love we will show others.

And in this, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” (1 John 4:18)