Love Like JesusSample

The Priority of Love  

Jesus Himself says that love for God and neighbor are the most important commandments — on them the Law and the Prophets depend (Matt. 22:40). 

Any study of the biblical view of love must consider Paul’s extensive exposition of the virtue in 1 Corinthians 13. This passage is a favorite text for many people and one of the most frequently read passages at weddings. Our familiarity with its contents, however, can blind us to how short we fall of this standard for love if we are not careful. The kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is based on the love of our Creator Himself, which is never anything other than perfect. God’s love is always kind, patient, truthful, and so forth, manifesting every quality Paul ascribes to love in his epistle to the Corinthians. Moreover, the love of God demonstrates these characteristics flawlessly, while our attempts to love in this manner never measure up.

Why is our love imperfect? One reason is that we do not make love the priority it should be. Though it is the chief of all Christian virtues, we often ignore love and use our gifts destructively in the body of Christ, just like the Corinthians did (chaps. 12–14). Jealousy consumes us, and we continually put ourselves ahead of others.

First Corinthians 13:1–3 tells us that though we might be extraordinarily gifted and have great theological understanding, we gain nothing if we have not love. Using the gifts of God without showing love to others only proves that we have forgotten the great Gift-giver, who is pure love (1 John 4:8). In so doing, all we have done is replace the living God with a dead idol.

Coram Deo: Living before the face of God  

Consider whether you make love a priority this day. Are you zealous to preach the gospel and defend truth because you like to win arguments, or are you motivated primarily by love for lost people? Is it more important to be right when you argue with your spouse, or do you seek to treat that person with love, no matter what is going on? If love is not a priority for you, repent this day and strive to make expressing love part of your nature.

Copyright © Ligonier Ministries.