Paul wrote a large portion of the New Testament. One passage in his writings is very familiar because it is used so often. Over the years you have read these words on needlepoint and bumper stickers and stained-glass windows. You’ve heard these words in songs and wedding vows. You may have heard them so often that they are not as meaningful as they should be to you. But these words are quite possibly the most profound ever written by Paul. They require our serious consideration. I’m referring to what is often called “The Love Chapter of the Bible,” 1 Corinthians 13.  We will be looking at this chapter in the days ahead, starting today with the first three verses.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3  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. 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. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

The beginning of this chapter tells us that all our deeds, without love, are of no value to God. That means we better get a handle on what God means when He tells us to love.

This chapter appears right in the middle of a discussion on spiritual gifts, which was something else the people of Corinth didn’t understand properly. Chapters 12 and 14 speak about gifts like healing, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge and speaking in tongues. Rather than changing the subject, this chapter ties into that discussion on gifts. The point Paul is making is that the main thing in a Christian life is not the ability to speak in tongues or heal an illness or any other gift. The most important thing in the life of a believer is the practice of Christian love. Read that last sentence again. This is not an exaggeration. Once you have come to faith in Christ, that is what you are to do: Love.

Christians are to model the love that God has shown to us. You are to mimic the love that drove Jesus to the cross, because nowhere do we see God’s love more clearly. You are to show others the love that has been shown to you.