5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Psalm 119:120-120:7
1 Corinthians 13

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

1Corinthians 13:1 (CSB): “If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

We cannot read the Bible without realizing just how important love is. We are told that our God isn’t merely loving, He IS love (1 John 4:8, 16). Jesus told us that the most important command, the one that we dare not break, is to love the Lord our God with all of our being (Matthew 22:37-38). We also read that God threatens bad things to those who lose their first love (Revelation 2:4-5).

So, if we get nothing else right, we MUST understand and apply the passages that encourage us to love our God and others. That is why 1 Corinthians 13 is such an important chapter! It tells us what our love must look like as we love our God and our neighbor. Let’s look at this chapter from a bird’s-eye view.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

First Corinthians 13:1-3 tells us of the priority of love.

In verse 1, we read that if we are so intelligent that we can speak every language on earth with fluency and even speak the language of the angels, we are an obnoxious noise if we don’t love God and others.

In verse 2, we read that if we have the ability to understand all of the mysteries of God and His universe, and know fully everything there is to be known, and have faith to move mountains, we are absolutely nothing if we don’t love God and others.

In verse 3, we read that if we engage in a profound self-sacrifice by giving away all of our possessions, and even giving of ourselves, we gain absolutely nothing if we don’t do it because we love God and others.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

So, what is biblical love? While it contains emotions, it isn’t rooted in the emotions. It is rooted in the will. Biblical love is a choice to act in a loving way, even as the feelings of love often come and go. There should certainly be seasons when we feel our love for God and others. But we don’t let feelings pull the train. Our will pulls the train as we choose to act in loving ways, whether we feel like it or not.

First Corinthians 13:4-7 describes the kind of love we are to strive for. I won’t go into the definition of each word. They are pretty self-explanatory. But I would encourage you to slowly walk through the list. After all, since love is so important in the biblical worldview, and since we are commanded to love our God and others every day of our lives, we need to know what love is.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (CSB): “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Finally, 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 brings the plane in for a landing. This section of the chapter tells us that there are spiritual gifts that play a part in church history. Some of them have come to an end, and others will end when Jesus comes back. But love will never stop.

Our eternal home is saturated in love, and we will enjoy being in that loving place forever and ever. The implication is that since love will not end, we need to get used to experiencing and engaging in it.

Friend, it is so important to trust (have faith in) the Lord. After all, it is impossible to please the Lord without faith (Hebrews 11:6). But there is coming a time when we will no longer live by faith because our faith will become sight.

It is also important to have a biblical hope, confidentially looking forward to all that God has promised us in His Word. But there is coming a time when we will enter our Heavenly Home and no longer engage in hope. We will simply enjoy the everlasting present forever.

But love never ends. It won’t stop when we step into eternity. If anything, our experience of it will only increase in sincerity and intensity. Why not ask the Lord to cultivate a greater love for Him and others, and then do your part to cultivate the one attribute that will last for eternity.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to cultivate an even greater depth to your love for Him and your neighbor.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into the command to love, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“What is the greatest commandment?”

Sharing

If this post has been helpful to you or if you think it could help others, please consider tapping one of the social media buttons below to share it on your favorite platform.

____________________

Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)