Have you ever wondered what matters to God? God says what matters in life is not your accomplishments or your achievements or your fame or your wealth. One of the things that matters is having a faith that causes you to love other people. If you miss that, you have missed the most important thing in life.
When speakers want to get your attention and want you to remember something, they use repetition. They say something over and over. In the first few verses of 1 Cor 13, Paul says the same thing five different ways: The most important thing in life is love. Here are some reasons why. 1. If you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you say will matter. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.” (1 Corinthians 13:1 ESV). We’re really impressed by great speakers. We love eloquence and charisma. But God says it doesn’t matter how good of a communicator you are. Are you living a life of love? If you’re not, then nothing you say will matter. Words without love are just noise. 2. If you don't live a life of love, nothing you know will matter. “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 ESV). We live in a world where knowledge is exploding. We are smarter than we’ve ever been. But we still have the same problems: crime, abuse, prejudice, violence. Why? Because the world doesn’t need more knowledge. It needs more love. You may be a genius. But God says if you don’t have love in your life, all that you know is worthless. 3. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you believe will matter. The Bible says, “and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2b ESV). There’s a myth that being a follower of Christ is just a matter of believing certain truths. Nothing can be further from the truth! Following Christ is about living a life of love. It takes more than belief to please God. 4. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you give will matter. The next verse says, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV). Love isn’t always the motivation for giving. Some people give just to get back or out of guilt or for control or prestige. You can give for a lot of wrong motives, but the Bible says if you’re not doing it out of love, none of your giving counts. The Bible is very clear about what happens when you don’t live a life of love.
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