I mostly forgot about that, however, until a few days ago when For King and Country's song "Proof of Your Love" came on the radio. It's essentially 1 Corinthians 13 set to music, so the content wasn't new (and I've heard the song dozens of times), but something about that time made me just sit and listen to the words.
[If you've been reading my blogs for a while, you'll notice that most of my "epiphanies" or whatever you'd like to call them tend to happen when I'm listening to music. That's just how I am, so roll with me here.]
The song (and Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13) starts off by talking about all the amazing things that a person might be able to do. You might be a powerful speaker. You might be the most generous and giving person in history. You might have the kind of faith that can move a mountain.
I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to do all of those things?
But here's the thing...no matter how strong or smart or spiritual you are, it means nothing if you don't have love.
Hold up there, Paul. Are you really saying that all my good deeds and all my faith and all my gifts mean absolutely nothing if I'm not loving?
Yes. That's exactly what he's saying.
You see, when Paul wrote this chapter, he knew that Christians would get caught up in following all the rules that Jesus had given them. They--like the Pharisees before them--would miss the whole point of Christianity by getting bogged down in trying to look like a "good Christian".
If Paul's words aren't enough to sway you, then check out what Jesus said was the greatest commandment:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)What Jesus is saying here is that none of the rest of the Law (which is extensive) matters at all if you don't love God and you don't love others. Most of the Law was made up of rules to enforce these (for example, "do not murder" is a law that we wouldn't need if we all truly loved each other).
So do you think loving people is important to God...and therefore to us? You bet!
I began to search my own heart and mind about this, and without much searching I realized that I had a bad attitude toward so many people. And I thought about it: if Jesus could forgive and love someone who put Him on a cross and who still fails Him daily, I can love the person who bugs me or who wasn't nice to me.
What does that look like? Well, loving people has to start with your heart. Get your heart right with God and ask Him to give you strength to love even the unlovable.
Then go out and actually do the hard thing and love people. Maybe it's as simple as smiling at someone because they're another one of God's creations. Or maybe it's going up to someone who makes your life difficult and finding a way to make their day better. Maybe it's being intentional about building others up: not only complimenting them to their face, but genuinely honoring them. Or maybe it's just squelching your tendency to think and talk badly about someone.
Look, I know this is a high calling. It seems impossible. Believe me, I go into my day saying, "I wonder how I can be loving to someone today," and before I can even walk into the door, something is already bothering me or someone I don't like is there or I'm just too busy and distracted.
But if this is the second greatest commandment ever, don't you think we should take a little more time and effort? After all, I would hate to go through life, having done so many good and amazing things, and hear at the end that it all means nothing because I didn't have love.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I've talked about love several times in this blog, so if you're new to the page and would like to catch up on those, here are a few of the links!If You Love One Another...
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