The Most Important Gift
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
If you’re a Christian, love is more important than any spiritual gift you may have. It is therefore not surprising that Scripture says that the first “fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal 5:22). And it makes sense that by our love for other Christians “‘all will know that you are My disciples’” (John 13:35).
Genuine love is so integral to the Christian life that if you claim to follow Jesus, you must demonstrate such love in order for your profession of faith to be valid (1 John 3:14).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 208). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: The three greatest spiritual virtues are faith, hope, and love. But among the three, only love is eternal. Only love is a communicable attribute of God. "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). When we reach heaven, we will no longer have any need for faith or hope, but our love for God and His love for us will be limitless. We must practice love on earth in preparation for expressing love in heaven.
Applications: Practice all the spiritual virtues, but practice love most of all. Practice a love which is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud. Practice a love which is not rude, not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Practice a love which does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Cor 13:4-7). This is the genuine kind of love which Christ modelled for us, a love which never fails.
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a heart to love genuinely. A heart which remembers all that love is, and is willing to sacrifice and serve and obey and submit in order to practice true, living love.
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1 Corinthians 13:13
If you’re a Christian, love is more important than any spiritual gift you may have. It is therefore not surprising that Scripture says that the first “fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal 5:22). And it makes sense that by our love for other Christians “‘all will know that you are My disciples’” (John 13:35).
Genuine love is so integral to the Christian life that if you claim to follow Jesus, you must demonstrate such love in order for your profession of faith to be valid (1 John 3:14).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 208). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: The three greatest spiritual virtues are faith, hope, and love. But among the three, only love is eternal. Only love is a communicable attribute of God. "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). When we reach heaven, we will no longer have any need for faith or hope, but our love for God and His love for us will be limitless. We must practice love on earth in preparation for expressing love in heaven.
Applications: Practice all the spiritual virtues, but practice love most of all. Practice a love which is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud. Practice a love which is not rude, not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Practice a love which does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Cor 13:4-7). This is the genuine kind of love which Christ modelled for us, a love which never fails.
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a heart to love genuinely. A heart which remembers all that love is, and is willing to sacrifice and serve and obey and submit in order to practice true, living love.
Listen to this entry
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