If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy
but don’t love,
I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
1 Corinthians 13:1 MSG
The creaking of a rusty gate. Noisy. Annoying. Pointless. And you know you’ve got to get that fixed. Or when you tolerate it enough, you’ll just get used to it.
Love month it is! Married couples and those who are in a relationship can be a little bit more sweet and cheesy, and perhaps those who are in an “it’s complicated” status have it less complicated this month? And for those who are still longing for that someone, this month sort of magnifies that longing. But what is love, really?
A couple of weeks ago, I was reading through 1 Corinthians (particularly chapters 12 to 14) in preparation for a volunteer activity I was headed to, and I wanted to share with you what struck me… apart from “the creaking of a rusty gate.”
The Heart of God. Love. It’s not just about us having nice, cozy feelings for others, but us bringing God’s love, showing God’s heart to the people around us, likeable or not, because God loves everyone. At the cross, Jesus was, Himself, the ultimate display of love. Jesus died for all, not just for those who we deem likeable.
Of Spiritual Gifts. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that chapters 12 and 14 talk about spiritual gifts, and squeezed in between in chapter 13 is the famous passage about love. It’s like the “sandwich” approach: the gifts are the bread layers and love is the meat. I’m not downplaying spiritual gifts, but compared to love, these scriptures do say that even prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and even special knowledge will become useless, but love will last forever. So when desiring spiritual gifts, desire for God’s heart for His people.
Of Salvation. Salvation doesn’t start with faith; it started with God’s love. Faith is but our response to the love of God.
For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 ESV
Oh! And if you’re a single woman wanting to be found by your knight in shining armor, whether you feel you want that to happen now or just have it at the back of your mind for someday, do read this post by my #justqueening friend! It’s super worth reading! If you’re the aspiring knight in shining armor, then you should read this post by her king!
