Disciples Making Disciples With Francis ChanSample

“Love Comes First”

In the most beautiful terms, Paul says that gaining knowledge and power—even sacrificing our own bodies—is completely worthless apart from love.

The result of loveless ministry is serious: “I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal… I am nothing… I gain nothing.” In other words, even the most impressive and sacrificial actions are worthless if they are not empowered by love.

Are you the type of person who would teach someone without loving them? Don’t be quick to answer. Many good pastors have confessed that they got so caught up in the busyness of ministry that they went through the motions without loving their people. Most of us have to work hard to keep love at the forefront.

What do you think and feel when you are in a group of people? Are you overly aware of the ones who are wealthy, attractive, or have something they can offer you? Do you worry about what people think of you? Or do you look for ways to love and opportunities to give? A sure sign of a loveless heart is seeing people as a means to your own ends—they listen to you, give you affirmation when you want it, stay out of your way when you don’t, etc. Teaching other people with this type of mentality is bound to be sterile and unfruitful. According to Paul, every time we try to teach someone with this mentality, we can be sure that we have become nothing more than a clanging gong or resounding cymbal; we have made ourselves both annoying and irrelevant.

* Up to this point, would you say that your desire to make disciples has been motivated by love? Why or why not?