1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. (The Message)
This chapter is familiar in so many ways but is often simply passed over because we just all know it so well. But do we really know it? Do we understand how much our own ego gets in the way of expressing love? How many of us would like to speak well and have the power to attract other people's? How many of us would like fame and even be willing to give up a fortune to be noticed? But Paul forces us to consider again what is really important when it comes to relating to one another
Love is what holds a community together and Paul is clear that this isn't just for marriages and families but for the church as well. Unfortunately love is sometimes the last thing that is found within a community of faith. It might be expressed in the language but is it expressed in the actions of those who gather? Love should be the defining characteristic of any body of believers we are told in so many different places in the New Testament. It is a tough standard to live up to but it is also the invitation to live in a way that goes against everything else that the world says is important. It is the way of Jesus.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- When was the last time you heard a reference to this chapter? What do you remember about it?
- When you read chapter 12 and 13 together what comes to mind first?
- Why is loving other people in a Jesus way sometimes so difficult?
- What if anything would you have to give up to practice the love of Jesus more regularly?
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