If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
–1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT)
Without the love of Jesus in my life, I am nothing. In the end, love is all that matters. I may speak with other tongues or have spiritual gifts like prophecy and knowledge, but without love for others, these things earn me absolutely nothing. I can have a faith that moves mountains, but without love my faith is meaningless.
The grace of Jesus has changed my life. But I am a work in progress as He continually fills me with a love which longs to see the best in others—to forgive as He forgives—to give as He gives. His grace inspires love without judgment and expectation. Sometimes this is hard, but the Holy Spirit imparts life to what is hard. He softens my heart and changes my perspective.
No matter how right I think I am, love is patient and kind and does not insist on its way. Love is not jealous of someone’s else achievement. It calls me to not boast about my own. Anything I have accomplished isn't important. Love bids me never to keep a record of things that have been done to me or said about me. His grace sees beyond wrongs and forgives. Love hates injustice to others and rejoices when justice wins. Love believes and fights for the person without hope. “Love,” Paul writes, “never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NLT).
Ministry without His love has no life and no power. Without His grace, arrogance and pride grow exponentially. Work for Him becomes more important than love, and what you do becomes more important than He is in your life. In the end, works accomplished without grace don’t matter. What lasts is faith in Jesus, hope in His truth, and love without judgment. The greatest thing is love.
My debt is gone. There is no reason for me to put someone else in my debt. Grace yields more grace. When love is free to me, and I offer it freely to others, there is no greater joy!
© 2019 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2019/01/love.html
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