love...actually

Probably half of the married people reading this had 1 Corinthians 13 read in their wedding ceremonies.  And why not, it contains the Bible's perfect description of love and love's attributes.  Reading the chapter on it's own though only provides a partial look at what Paul is trying to communicate about love to the Corinthians.  The weight of this passage is far heavier when read within the context of the entire book. The apostle Paul, the author of the first letter to the Corinthians, had been receiving reports that the church in Corinth had fallen into immorality and disorder.  He loved these dear saints and wanted nothing to come between them and their God so he wrote a very long letter to them in an attempt to correct the divisions and wrong practices that had arisen among them.

He knew his words would be empty without one key element though so, after 12 chapters of instruction, he says this: "But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. 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" (12:31-13:3).

In other words, I could teach you right behavior and you could do it all day long but if you do it without love, it's pointless.

Romans 12:15 says "Don't just say you love people; really love them."  Sacrificial love for others empowered by Christ's sacrificial love for us is truly the only way we'll ever make progress in the production of holiness in our lives.