The Greatest is Love Because God is Love

Our study of 1 Corinthians 13 has explained many traits - patience, humility, courtesy, and generosity, to name a few - and we have determined that each one is a practical expression of love.

"...but the greatest of these is love."

Now that we are at the end of our journey through the chapter, we are told that even among the virtues that endure, love is the greatest. There is a wonderful reason why the Scriptures describe love as the one greatest virtue, and it can be found in the following Bible verses. Let us read carefully and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.

1 John 4:7-16, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

Love is the great motivator behind what God did for us. As each of us reflects upon God's involvment in our lives today, we see that love continues to be the reason for His work in us. Because God loves us, we are able to love.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You for teaching me about Your love. Help me to practice what I have learned. Let my motivation be love. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Miracle of the Fullness of God

The Lord inspired the Apostle Paul to include the following heartfelt prayer in one of his letters to the churches.

Ephesians 3:17-19, "I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love -- how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God." (see New Century Version.)

We understand from this Scripture that God's love is total. It reaches every corner of our experience -- from the height of our celebration to the depth of our grief and sorrow. This love is too much to understand with our minds and much greater than we could ever comprehend, yet this wise apostle prays for a miracle! He prays that we would know God's love, so that we can be filled with the fullness of God!

It is impossible to know God's love completely, but that doesn't mean we should ever stop searching. The Lord promises that if we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him.

Is that where you are right now? Are you ready to seek to know God's love? Do you desire to know Him, to follow Him? Do you confess that you are unable to do so without His assistance?

Then, you are ready. Step out today and begin anew. He wants to show you a deeper love that will satisfy your hungry soul. Just ask.

Love, Karen

God is Not Limited

1 Corinthians 13:9, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part."

Our best knowledge and our greatest abilities to teach that which we know are exactly like our condition: limited and temporary. This is the way it is and it is the way it will remain as long as we live in these temporary bodies on this earth.

Our Heavenly Father, the God Whom we serve, possesses three specific characteristics:

1. He is omnipotent: almighty, infinite in power, having unlimited authority.

2. He is omnipresent: present everywhere at the same time.

3. He is omniscient: having unlimited knowledge, awareness; perceiving all things.

Wherever I lack, God fulfills. Whenever I am not up to the task at hand, God can do it. When I cannot be in more than one place at a time, God is everywhere. When I do not understand, God does.

We have hope because we serve a Mighty God. We put our trust in the One that calls the earth His footstool. We can believe in the King Who is enthroned in the Heavens.

It doesn't make me feel bad to realize that I can only know in part, because I am acquainted with the One Who knows everything. And He is my God. He is my Savior. He is my Friend. I belong to Him.

...And He loves me.

Karen

God's Love is Constant

1 Corinthians 13:8, "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."

The character of Christ is constant. When the world around us delivers confusion, change, and calamity, the genuine love of Jesus stands serene and sure. However, it is only as we open our hearts to Him that we can ever hope to share that same enduring quality of His eternal love.

If your religion centers on the admiration you have for oratory skills, spiritual gifts, and educational degrees, then you will be gravely disappointed. If you love the Lord because He has blessed you with possesions, good health, and a well-paying job, you are basing your Christianity on temporal things.

On the other hand, if your religion is based on a relationship with your Savior, then your foundation is sure. His love for you never fluctuates, and certainly never vanishes. This is His character.

The remarkable truth is that He wants to share this same love with you so that you can love Him back, and so that you can show this love to a chaotic world.

Lord Jesus, You are the same yesterday, and today, and forever. This thought stirs me to the depth of my soul. I can face the future knowing that You are with me, You never change, and You never fail. Thank you for teaching me about genuine love. Amen.

Defined and Developed...Only to Give Away

Love..."bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," 1 Corinthians 13:7.

"The New Testament in Modern English" translates it this way: "Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything."

What Kind of Love?

This kind of love - genuine and eternal - is supernatural. It is Christ-in-us that enables us to serve, to give, and to work so that others are drawn to Him. Souls are not saved by believing in our works, but by believing in the accomplished work on the Cross, so we always point to Jesus Christ. We must boast in the Lord and give Him the credit for what He has done.

How Do I Do It?

Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."

John 15:12-13, "This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no one that this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

We are not to try to divide our love between God and others, but let God love others through us. This is why we are to love God first, and then love one another. They're equal in importance, but in that order for a reason. We cannot love others with God's love without first loving Him - and we love Him because He first loved us. (See 1 John 4:19.)

How Will I Know I Have Love?

1 John 2:3-5, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him."

The proof of our love for God is seen in our actions and confirmed by our attitudes. As we seek the Lord daily in prayer and in reading His Word, He will cleanse us and make us usable. As we obey His instructions, He will give us eyes to see the needs around us and we will be willing to give selflessly.

Will I Receive More?

Ephesians 3:19, "To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." The more we know God's character, and the more we understand His love, the more our love for Him will grow.

Here we meet the essence of Christlikeness: love others with the love we have been given.

Love, Karen

Love is a Heavenly Gift

The Lord God is the Source of Genuine Love and is quick to liberally pour it out upon His children. Every thought that He has for us, every blessing that He bestows is because of His love, a love that we can never earn.

The description of genuine love in 1 Corinthians 13 reveals to us the importance of this virtue in our lives. As we learn more about the Greek agape kind of love, we will begin to understand that love is not complete without giving.

Defining genuine love is difficult, so Paul resorts to describing how it should look in the life of a Christian. He explains that this love is even more than action alone: it is the attitude behind the action. We must always ask ourselves, "Are my motives pure?"

We will recognize genuine love in our lives when we seek to serve with no expectations. In fact, our reward will be that the Lord gets the glory for any good accomplished. Genuine love is not an impulse of feeling, but it is a desire to help others see the Giver.

The Lord is the Giver of all good things according to James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

Lord Jesus, the desire of my heart is that others would look at me and know that I belong to You. Help me to be a witness of Your love, that others will turn to You for their salvation. Thank you for saving me. Amen

The Sum of All Virtues

1 Corinthians 13

In our text, Paul uses vivid language to address the important subject of genuine love. It is as if He takes a pause in the middle of working out the problems of the church in order to define the basic behavior of Christlike character. Within the pages of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians we find an almost-poetic description of how it should appear in our lives.

Why is this prominent place given to the subject of genuine love? It is because love is the sum of all other virtues. Scripture makes that clear by saying that the whole law is fulfilled in this one word. Jesus said that all the law and the prophets hang on two commandments about love: love God, and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).

1 Corinthinans 13:4, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up."

Longsuffering is from a Greek word that literally means "long-tempered." So, think of what it means to be short-tempered, and then imagine the exact opposite. This may also describe someone who is wronged and who has the power to avenge himself -- but never does it.

Kindness, on the other hand, is an action of goodwill. It is an act of giving unselfishly. The recipient of a kind gesture smiles because it is refreshing and because nothing is expected in return.

Genuine love also can be identified by what it is not. The first of the not list in the verse is that love does not envy. Envy is a selfish, sinful desire and we must not make room for it. God's love is always giving, never taking.

James 3:16, "Where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there."

The rest of 1 Corinthians 13:4 speaks of boasting and arrogance. If envy is resentment over the blessings of others, boasting is the sin of trying to make others envious of us. Boasting is an attempt to elevate self.

When we look for the one perfect example of genuine love, our eyes will always rest upon Jesus Christ, for He alone embodies it. When we long for genuine love in our own lives, again, our eyes will always rest expectantly upon Jesus, for He alone is the Source...

...and He imparts it to us through the Holy Spirit.

Lord, may your love rest upon me. Amen

Genuine Love is From God

In our daily Bible reading, we have no doubt discovered once again that references to God's love or Christ's love occur often. Love is the theme and purpose behind all of God’s Word. We cannot escape it, nor do we want to. The world's idea of love is in reality lust. As Christians, we have come to understand that love gives, but lust takes. God's love is genuine, pure, and unselfish.

In I Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul wrote that we can have eloquent speech, prophetic powers, a mind full of understanding and knowledge, and faith to move mountains, and we can even give all of our possessions to feed the poor and give our bodies to be burned, but without love “it profits nothing” (see I Corinthians 13:1–3).

Genuine love is powerful because it produces action. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He gave. The Scripture cautions us to let genuine love motivate us to good works, not the other way around. It is impossible to find this kind of love within ourselves; it is His love and He produces it in each of us as we surrender to Him.

When Christ perfects His love in us through His Word, our lives will demonstrate the power of Christ’s love.

Lord, perfect Your love in us. Amen.

Love, Karen