“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”–1 Corinthians 13:4-7
During the seventeenth century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However when the time came, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fianc’e had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, “Your love shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!”
Many times we can be guilty of acting like we love someone, but not truly loving them. Without God’s love, nothing we do matters. Our empty service will not make a difference or impact someone without God’s love.
Without God’s love, our words are meaningless. First Corinthians 13:1 says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” God is telling us that even though we may speak well and have nice things to say to others, without His love, our words are empty. It is good to speak kindly to others, but we must make sure we are speaking out of a heart of love.
Also, without God’s love, our motivation is weak. First Corinthians 13:2 says, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” There will be times when we do not feel like loving others or showing Christ’s love through our lives, but God tells us that we must have His love in order to love others. We must have His love as our motivation each day.
Last, without God’s love, our actions will have little impact. First Corinthians 13:3 says, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”. Even if we were to sell everything we have and dedicate our lives to loving others, it would mean nothing if we did not have God’s love in our lives.
God’s love makes the difference between meaningless actions and life-changing deeds. It is when we are yielded to God and are serving others with His love in our hearts that He is able to use us. We must make sure our motivation for loving others is out of a love for God.
God knows that our relationships are more important than our accomplishments, and He challenges us to grow in His love. Are you serving others out of a love for God or have your actions become routine? Ask God to renew your love for Him and to help you love others with His love today.–Daily in the Word
