Love 13.1-3
(Briarwood Mall, Ann Arbor)
From God’s perspective, how important is love?
Love’s importance is seen in the very nature of God. God IS love. The very being, the very essence of who God is, is love. Therefore God cannot not-love. Whatever God does is an act of love and demonstrates God’s love.
So what does this mean for you and me? We get an answer in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-4. This says:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
A life without love, without real, authentic God-type love, is just a bunch of background noise. No matter how gifted or talented or smart or religious or spiritual you think you are, if you don’t have God-type love your life registers a “zero.”
Even if you are the most giving person, even becoming a martyr, if you don’t have God-type love, nothing has been gained.
Does this seem impractical, or impossible? Who could love like God loves? I know I don’t. Does this mean that my life, and maybe your’s too, amounts to nothing? I think the point to be made is this. For God, love is premier. God IS love. The heart of God IS love. So, minimally, love is important to God, right? The recognition of the supreme value of love to God is a call to align my heart with the heart of God, which is a good thing. I can see the truth of these verses. Intuitively, I know that love is more important than personal giftedness or personal accomplishments. I’ve seen the damage I have done when I’ve not acted in love, but acted in self-interest, toward others. So, God I cry out to you - give me a greater heart of love, a heart more like Your’s!