One of the most familiar passages in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13, sometimes called the “Love Chapter.” One of the reasons this passage is so familiar to us is that it is often read at weddings. The passage is not really about weddings or romance but it isn’t wrong to read it at weddings. After all, we really do need these same principles in our marriages! Jesus said that love would be the distinguishing mark of His followers so it is good that Paul has so much to say about it. So much in fact, that I thought it might be good to divide the passage up into three parts. Today, let’s begin a three-part series as we listen to the first three verses:

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. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

Before, in Chapter 12 and then after, in Chapter 14, Paul is teaching the congregation in Corinth on the subject of spiritual gifts. Why does he bring up the subject of love when he is right in the middle of teaching on the subject of spiritual gifts? He writes that all of the gifts are pointless if not accompanied by love and then he goes on to tell us, in detail, what he means by that. First, he says that love is better than speaking in tongues and love is better than prophecy, better than hidden knowledge or discernment. Love is even better than faith or power. Whatever supernatural gift you might think is the best one, Paul writes that love is better than that gift! Then Paul says that love is better than generosity or sacrifice. It is possible for us to impress others with our “loving” acts of kindness but we are not fooling God. He sees through our thin veneer of “righteousness” and knows all about our selfish motives. Giving generously to the poor and starving children of the world, feeding the poor and sheltering the homeless may have its rewards, but those acts in themselves don’t cut any ice with God. He always knows what we really hope to achieve in the depths of our deceitful and wicked hearts.

Loving others—not religious activity—is the way you and I can live as faithful followers of Jesus...and that is very Good News!