And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes (trusts, NIV) all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ... And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Cor. 13:1-8; 13 The Greek word translated as “believes” in I Corinthians 13:7 is a form of the verb pisteuo, which means “to believe, place faith in, or trust.” Those who love will always “believe” in the other person. There is no second-guessing or questioning whether the person should be loved. The loved one does not need to perform anything or achieve a certain goal in order to be loved. Just as Christ loves His children unconditionally, He calls us to love others. Love is based on who He is, not on what others do. (Gotquestions.com)
As we read these convicting passages, we can all recognize ways we have obediently shown God’s love and ways we have disobeyed and not shown His love in our relationships, especially those closest to us. The main evidence of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and His people as well as a love for sharing truth with lost souls. It has been well said that love is the circulatory system of the body of Christ. In the context of this passage, Paul was dealing with the Corinthian church’s problems when he wrote these words: the abuse of the gift of tongues, division in the church, envy of other’s gifts, impatience with one another in meetings, and wrong behavior in general. The only way spiritual gifts can be used creatively is when Christians are motivated by God’s love. Note that all three of the Christian graces - faith, hope, & love - will endure even though faith will become sight and hope will be fulfilled. But when you love someone, you trust them and will always be anticipating new joys of what God is doing in your growing relationship. Faith, hope, and love go together, but it is “love” that energizes faith and hope.
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