The Primacy of Love

“If I have the gift of prophecy, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” I Cor. 13:2 (NIV)

In stating the primacy of love in that great “Love Chapter”—I Corinthians 13—Paul the Apostle, moved by the Spirit to write, taught us much about love and the superior place it should hold in the Christian’s life.

Prophecy was very important in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament times. Consider how many great books in the Bible we have written by prophets. We even divide them into “major” and “minor” to learn to say the books of the Bible. But know that none of the prophetic books are “minor”—as relates to unimportance. All are God’s Word. Some are just shorter than others. Maybe that’s why some Bible teacher long ago termed them “minor.” But even if I could prophecy—forthtell the future, or, in another definition for prophet, tell God’s Word to the people, if I could do that and not have love in my heart for God and for people, my prophesying (witnessing, forth-telling) would be absolutely vain.

And if I had enough faith to say, “Big mountain, move!” and was not motivated by love, that great faith would mean nothing. Mountain here, as I interpret it, means anything major—a challenge, a problem, a trial—in life. Faith in God helps us overcome even the most difficult of problems (or mountains) in our lives. We need such faith; we need to grow in faith. But what good is removing the mountain, if, at the same time, we cannot have genuine love in our hearts for God and for others? Love must precede the faith to move mountains in our lives. Love is first.

“If I have not love, I am nothing!” We’re talking about unconditional love here. Not love that is selfish, self-aggrandizing, self-seeking. Love seeks the best for others. Love for God allows Him into the believer’s life so that human love can aspire to be like the love of God for us. What an order! We must constantly work on loving as God wants to teach us how to love. And our example is Jesus! Paul concluded: “Faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love” (13:13).

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, February 11, 2010