"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."
If we speak eloquently but don't have love in our speech, simply sound noisy, like cymbals clanging together. If we are wise beyond many people on this earth, and if our faith is so strong we are able to move mountains...but we lack love, it is as though we don't exist. We are nothing. If we give everything we own to those in need but don't have love behind our actions, it means nothing. No good deed is truly good unless God's love is behind it; unless we surrender our hearts to Him so we can love no matter the circumstance.
"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
This first one hits me super hard every time I read it. I have become one of the most impatient people I know when it comes to dealing with other people. The ironic thing is, if you're not patient, all these other things just come flowing in right behind that one action gone wrong. If I'm not patient with someone, I am not going to be kind to them, I will start acting arrangement, like listening to this person go on and on is below me. I then start acting unbecomingly, seeking my own wants and wishes. And then lastly, it all comes crashing down and ends with the fact that I won't endure anything. I get fed up with whatever it is and just walk away. This, of course, means I did not show love towards that person, which also means I was not showing Christ to them. What could be more horrendous? To have true love, I must endure all things, whether it's comfortable and fun or not, I must treat everyone I come in contact with as though they were the most important person in my life. Give them my full attention, not listening halfheartedly because they they're saying disinterests me.
"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away."
My favorite part. Love NEVER fails. No matter the circumstance, no matter the heartache, no matter the pain, no matter the problems...love will never fail. Because our Lord Jesus is love, and He will never fail. Love will always come out on top, will always win; love always solves the worst of problems. Because of God's love, we were given a gift of eternal life.
"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love."
The greatest of these is love. Not just the best one for any situation, but the greatest, eminent and prominent one is love. This life is not about us. It is not about our feelings or only doing what we're most comfortable with. We were given life to show others HIS life. The way HE loved and cared. To show the world how fabulous His love is and that they, too, can have it in their lives!
A good example would be this:
All of the sudden a pandemic disease came. This disease was across the entire world. Everyone was dying. Doctors worked tirelessly to come up with a cure, but none was found. People continued to die year after year; there was pain, suffering, and so many who were lifeless that everyone gave up hope. One day a man comes to a group of people with joy none had seen before; a look filled with hope. He tells them "I've found a cure for the disease!"
What do you think the reaction should be?
(a) -Everyone ignores his statement
(b) -Everyone runs to him joyfully begging to be given some
So, (a) or (b)?
B of course. These people ran to the man and pleaded with him to give them the cure. Of course, this man could have asked for money, these people were so desperate they would have given anything to get their hands on "life". But he starts giving it to everyone as a gift. Everyone wanted to know why he was just giving it away and He said, "How can I ask for anything from you when you're dying all around me? What kind of man would charge a fee for something so important?" This man went on passing our the medicine for years; as the news got out about what he was doing, other started following his example, getting some of the medicine and traveling the world to tell others about this cure. They cared so much for the lives of others that they gave their own lives to give others theirs back. They didn't have it easy all the time though. There were a select group of men who despised what these men were doing. They had rejected the cure, and didn't think anyone else should have it, either. They followed some of the men, murdering them before they could get to the towns. Some of the men went ahead to towns and told everyone that there would be men coming who were going to give them a false hope, a cure; they weren't to listen to them though, because it was really poison. They were to throw these men out of the town before they got to their children with the poison.
After many years, the group of kindhearted men became greater and greater....but so did the group of men of despair. Both having a message to tell, one of hope and the other of darkness. This battle still goes on today, though many people are completely unaware that they are even infected with the deadly disease.
See the resemblance of something else? Mankind is infected with a disease...as a matter of fact, it's the most deadly disease there ever was. Children are born with it, and only some people get the cure for it. The disease is sin, passed on from generation to generation since the beginning of time. Everyone on the earth is infected with it. But this isn't something that should dampen our spirits. You see, we've been given the cure.
2,000 years ago there was a man who took on the disease, head to head, even gave His life, so that the one and only cure could be given to all of mankind. There have been many who gave their lives to get the word out about it. Some have died trying to tell others, others have reached millions with the cure before they passed on.
Jesus died 2,000 years ago so that people could be cured of this awful sickness called sin. It eats at people from the inside and ruins their life. If you've accepted God's gift, you should feel obligated to get the good news out to other people, because that is the cure I've spoken of. If you don't, they are going to die never knowing their was something that could be done.
Love is the key. To have love behind your actions will bring you further than any other action you do, any kind of wisdom you have will ever bring you.
This is a story of hope and despair. Hope will reign in the end, but the number of people who will be on that side is up to you. Who have you given the truth to?
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