“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 NASB
THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE:
- Love is not a feeling, it is a choice
“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.” 1 John 3:18 MSG
- Love is a verb
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
- Love remains
“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 3:7-8 NASB
WITHOUT LOVE:
- All that I say is ineffective
“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.” 1 Corinthians 13:1
“Speak the truth in love…” Ephesians 4:15
- All that I know is incomplete
“If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge… I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2a
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
- All that I believe is insufficient
“If I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2b
“…The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6
- All that I give is insignificant
“If I gave everything I have to the poor… but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:3a
- All that I accomplish is inadequate
“(If I) sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:3b