The Greatest Is…
1 Corinthians 13:13
The Voice (VOICE)
13 But now faith, hope, and love remain; these three virtues must characterize our lives. The greatest of these is love.
This is a pretty familiar verse. I’ve even seen it on many Valentines. It comes from a passage of Scripture that many use in their wedding ceremony, whether they are Christ-followers or not.
For the casual believer, it’s a beautiful sentiment. When it is read or heard, it invokes feelings of warmth and well being.
This version puts an important emphasis on the phrase, “these three virtues must characterize our lives…”
The question I ask myself is, “Is this true of me?” Do I characterize faith, hope and love? Honestly, some days I do better than others. I find myself giving myself permission to do the opposite: I doubt, I fear, I’m unloving.
I read something today that challenged me. This is from the classic Devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers:
Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible for other souls spiritually before God? For instance, if I allow any private deflection from God in my life, everyone about me suffers. We "sit together in heavenly places." "Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." When once you allow physical selfishness, mental slovenliness, moral obtuseness, spiritual density, everyone belonging to your crowd will suffer. "But," you say, "who is sufficient for these things if you erect a standard like that?" "Our sufficiency is of God," and of Him alone.
So, keep the faith, wait in hope, and love, love love! All these things are powered by Christ!
Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
