The greatest of these is love

 We are all familiar with 1 Corinthians 13:

The Gift of Love

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.  For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.  For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

It is so easy to just hear what we want to hear in these pretty words.  What's not to love about love?  We feel it, we emote it, we receive it - there is an entire day devoted to the very idea of it.  We love our families and friends, our pets, our things, our position, our power, ourselves.  There is a long list of things people love.

But are we really listening to what God is saying in this passage?  Because this is not a suggestion.  And it isn't just about loving those who are easy for us to love.  It is, in fact, a directive on how to love those who we do not necessarily want to love, those who injure us, wound our hearts, and distract us from loving God.  Most importantly, it is a command for those who love themselves more than God.  This is also an instruction about loving others in the way God loves us, flaws and all.

If I speak in the tongues of humans and angels but do not have love... If I SAY I love God, but don't have love in my heart, it is all noise.  

And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love... No matter how much we believe in God (remember, Satan believes in God) if we don't ACTUALLY LOVE God, we are nothing.  

If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Our actions mean nothing if we do not do them BECAUSE OF OUR LOVE for God.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.  It is easy to be patient, kind, respectful, forgiving when you are interacting with someone you are close to.  But what about the person who angers you?  How about when you are dealing with someone who does not respect you?  Maybe you feel righteous indignation towards someone who has wronged you.  Surely there is an out for that, right?

Its not fair to expect me to love someone who is not loving in return.  And God says... "Really?  Do you always love me, then?  Who are you to talk?"  Love NEVER ends. 

When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.  For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  Holding fast to resentment or anger towards our fellow humans, whether we are close to them or strangers, is like a child yelling IT'S NOT FAIR.  God is calling on us to love as adults, understanding that every single person is a child of God, our brother or sister, even if they have fallen away from him, even when we don't see or understand them, even if they are different in every way.  Because HE still loves them patiently, kindly, forgiving everything with grace that passes all understanding.  He doesn't keep score.  Even when it isn't fair, because they don't love him back.  That is true love, the quiet, substantial, gainful love of God.  

For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  In our anger, our hate, our human condition, we see only ourselves, a reflection of our sinful nature.  It is ugly and immature.  In the fullness of God's love, we will see him clearly, we will come face to face with the perfect God who always loves us.  It is hard to imagine the glory of seeing God.  Moses, a sinner, had to shield his eyes because he could not stand the light of God's presence.  We don't even know what we don't know, but we will be aware then.  What a glorious day that will be for us.

But in the meantime, there is this summation, this direct order, for us while we live in the world, but try to remain apart from it.

And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

For now, we have faith in the never ending love of our almighty Father.  We have hope because of the all encompassing loving sacrifice of our Savior.  And we have the love of those we are close to, an earthly reflection of God's ever present and everlasting love through the Holy Spirit.  And, I think it almost goes without saying, the greatest of these is love.