”And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13New International Version (NIV)
1 Corinthians 13:13 Devotional
The greatest is love
In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul wrote that “The greatest is love“. This was his way of emphasizing that faith, hope, and love are great, but the greatest of them is love. And no wonder Jesus, when asked “What is the greatest commandment?”, responded and revealed that the greatest commandment is to “Love God with your all” (Matthew 22:34-38).
Moreover, Jesus also added the second greatest commandment. And he revealed that it is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Consequently, Jesus concluded his response to the expert of the Law by asserting that the whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments (Matthew 22:40). And in so doing, He isolated love as the greatest attribute.
Additionally, Jesus later stated that the way to inherit eternal life is by keeping the love commandments (Luke 10:25-37). And in so doing, Jesus again underscored the greatness of love as an attribute.
Love alongside faith and hope are mutually reinforcing
Therefore, God designed the three great attributes to be mutually reinforcing. He made them in such a way that to diminish any one of these three is to undermine the integrity of them all. Consequently, they together form a trinity.
Moreover, when you want to cook stew, the critical ingredients that you will need are meat (beef), vegetables, cooking oil, and salt. And if you agree that unsalted stew is rather flat, then you may conclude that salt is the greatest of the four. However, you will run into problems with your stew as you will pay less attention to adding beef, vegetables, and cooking oil.
Love should be balanced
Likewise, love that is not balanced by faith and hope will undermine the very definition of biblical love. Love, without the counterbalances of faith and hope, becomes unloving.
Love is eternal
Paul, therefore, also revealed that the spiritual graces of faith, hope, and love remain (abide/stay) and endure in a permanent way as compared to the spiritual gifts that will pass away. Essentially, Apostle Paul’s revelation is to the effect that these graces abide into eternity.
Fundamentally, faith means to trust in someone or something, and therefore hope is similar to long-term faith. That is, hope is a function of maintaining your trust in someone or something, regardless of the challenges of life that snuff out the same.
Faith and hope help to produce love
Additionally, in Galatians 5:6 and Romans 5:3-5 respectively, faith and hope both help to produce love. That is faith and hope together look forward to the acquisition of eternal, enduring, permanent love. In fact, they are the foundation of it.
Therefore, use your earthly life and everything else that is temporary in this life, to practice faith, hope, and love. Life is an opportunity to cultivate faith, hope, love, and in particular love.
Prayer/Blessing
Lord God, while I wait for the return of my Lord Jesus, help me to practice faith, hope, and love in equal and increasing measure. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
May you receive the grace to practice faith, hope, and love. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
Exodus 20-22 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
