And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13 AMP)

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If you know the Bible well, you may know 1 Corinthians 13 as the love chapter. In the previous chapter, Paul discusses the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:4-11). He then goes on to talk about the foundational offices (1 Cor 12:27-28). You may have heard them referred to as the fivefold offices. After all this talk about gifts and offices Paul offers advice to the Corinthian church. “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor 12:31)

There was nothing wrong with desiring spiritual gifts, in fact Paul said “desire the best gifts.” He concludes the chapter saying there is a more excellent way. Why would Paul need to direct the churches focus off of gifts, saying there was a better way? According to several commentaries, the young Corinthian church was rejoicing in the gifts of the Spirit. It’s not a bad thing to be excited about your gifts, however they began to pride themselves in their giftings. They were focusing more on the fruits than the roots. Paul begins the next chapter expounding the importance of love.

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. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Cor 13:1-3 NLT)

The root of our giftings should always be love. 

Without love, heavenly languages are a clanging cymbal. In others words, it’s just a bunch of noise. Without love, even the most accurate prophetic words and revelations are empty. Without love, even faith to move mountains is pointless. We could boast in how gifted we are, but what does it really profit us? We gain nothing when we choose not to love.

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. (1 Jn 3:18)

Love is not an option, it’s a command. 

Jesus actually called “LOVE” the greatest commandment of all (Mk 12:29-31). Jesus tied loving God and loving people together. Why? Because one relationship affects the other. Just look at the cross. We see a vertical beam, and a horizontal beam and that’s a perfect representation. The vertical beam is our relationship with God. We lift our eyes to him. He bends his ear and looks down to us. He is our first love. We are to have no other gods before Him.

The horizontal beam is our relationship with others. This can be family members, friends, coworkers, or everyday people. Our relationship with God should affect how we interact with others. When we love God, it should lead us to love and serve others. Jesus Christ was our perfect example of this. We love because He first loved us. He is our example of God’s love personified and this is how we know what it looks like.

Love is patient and kind. 

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. 

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Cor 13:4-7)

In the last verse all three (faith, hope, and love) are mentioned together. Just as Jesus connected loving God and loving our neighbors, faith, hope and love are also connected.  Hope and faith are rooted in love and point us to Jesus Christ. 

Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. (Heb 11:1 TPT)

Faith and hope work together. Faith is our confidence and assurance that we will receive what we hope for through Christ. Hope is our expectation. It is impossible to separate the two, and yet love is greater than these. Faith and hope are temporary, they are needed while we are here on earth. They are foundational to Christian living. 

But there will come a day when there won’t be a need for hope or faith, and that is when we are with the Lord, because He is our Blessed Hope. Love is the nature of God, it’s who He is. God is love (1 Jn. 4:7-8). God is eternal, therefore love is eternal (1 Cor 13:8). This is why Paul said love is the greatest. 

Romans 5:5 talks about the love of God being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God has poured out his love on us. Let’s pour out that love onto others. Evangelist David Wilkerson once said, “Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.” How true are these words? We can say that we love until we’re blue in the face, but if we do not demonstrate it then it’s just empty words.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) The love of God in us is to be demonstrated. We only need to look to the cross to see perfect love. The same way we receive forgiveness (vertical) we extend forgiveness to others (horizontal). We freely receive the love of God (vertical), we release his love to people (horizontal). 

Like most of you, I do not know what happens next. I know what I’m believing for, and who I’m trusting in. I still believe we are on the brink of an awakening. One thing is clear, hatred hasn’t worked very well for America. An us versus them attitude has only driven a wedge in families, cities, and nations. We must return to our first love, and return His love to others, even if they don’t agree with our politics, religion, or anything else. The command to love one another still stands. When I say love, this isn’t some weak, compromising love. The love of God is a force to be reckoned with. God’s love is so powerful it transforms everything. 

God’s love doesn’t shun anyone, it invites them in. I think about the people who were drawn to Jesus – lepers, blind men, people suffering, “sinful” men and women. The religious sect considered these people to be the lowest wrung. They were the outcasts. They felt the love of God and nearness that had been missing from their lives simply by encountering Jesus. What if our family members, neighbors, coworkers, and everyday people were drawn to us? What if they perceive we have something (Jesus) that is missing from their lives? I truly believe that we are about to be presented with the greatest opportunity to share Jesus with the world. There may be people surrounding you who are less than loveable, but even that is an opportunity. Choosing to love after being mistreated or hurt by someone is when we are most like Jesus. You may have heard the quote, “You may be the only Bible someone ever reads,” and I believe this to be true. Some may never step foot in a church, but we can still be the Church to them. Everywhere we go there are great needs. People are hurting, hopeless, looking for answers and truth, how we were before we came to Christ. Let’s demonstrate God’s love to others as He did for us. 

I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another. (Jn 13:34-35 AMP)

Author Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor to listen to her podcast Something To Share. 

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