And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)

“Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).  Yet, love, not faith, is the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37-40).  Faith is the starting point with love as the ultimate.  Between there we have a lot of growing to do.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. (2 Pet. 1:5-7)

For Those of You in Ministry:

Don’t assume you will automatically love people as Christ loves.  2 Peter 1 clearly delineates a growth process in getting there.  Have you ever experienced hardships in ministry, times when things didn’t go as expected or people didn’t cooperate as they should?  Embrace those experiences as opportunities to learn goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly kindness.  As you do, you will learn more and more to truly love.  If you choose instead to grumble, complain, get embittered, or similar negative reactions, don’t expect love to become the greatest characteristic within you.

About Those You Serve:

Don’t expect everyone to automatically love one another as they should just because they have put their faith in Jesus.  Be patient as they too must go through the process of growing from faith to love.  When conflicts come, as they will, challenge people to work through them so they learn from these experiences and grow together.  If you try to “fix” all the problems, how will people learn?  Rather, be there with encouragement and counsel as they walk through the process.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)

Though Jesus identifies love as the Greatest Commandment, love is also the greatest characteristic as seen in 1 Corinthians 13.  Effectiveness in ministry hinges on love, not honed skills, the latest technology, excellence in programming, and the like.

This chapter is sandwiched between a teaching on body life and the use of spiritual gifts.  Consequently, if we keep it in that context we must conclude that love is critical to body life and must govern how we do ministry through the use of spiritual gifts.

Personalization of love  (vs. 1-3)

The clanging noise, insignificance, and ineffectiveness described in these verses do not refer to ministry being done without love.  Rather, they depict the person doing the ministry.

“I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” – If you want plausibility in ministry, you need to love.

“I am nothing.” – If you want purpose in ministry, you need to love.

“I gain nothing.” If you want a productive ministry, you need to love.

Bottom line: Be the kind of person who makes a difference by being a person motivated and characterized by love.

Potential of love  (vs. 4-8a)

No matter how you serve, you will find many situations calling for patience and kindness.  You will be tempted to boast about what you are doing right or envy others in their successes.  You will tend to think your agenda is the one to follow.  Your gut reaction to those who do you wrong or stand in your way could easily be rudeness, anger, or revenge.  You might find it hard to forgive.  As much as you try not to say “I told you so,” you might not be able to help but think people got what they had coming to them.  You will sometimes find it very hard to see the potential in people.  And, there will be times you just feel like giving up.

What’s the solution?  — Love.  Only God’s love will enable you to keep the best interests of others at heart.

Bottom line: Measure your ministry against the right standard, the love of God as described in 1 Corinthians 13.

If you serve as a Bible teacher, the worksheet, “Does your heart beat with the love of God for your students?” will help you do that.

Perspective of love  (vs. 8-13)

How quick we can be in ministry to focus on certain doctrines or practices to the neglect of that which can be agreed upon and profit everyone.  We can get mixed up on that which is negotiable and that which is not.  We can settle for the temporal, imperfect, and incomplete when God wants our attention on that which is lasting, perfect, and complete.  In the end only faith, hope, and love will remain with love being the greatest.

How interesting that though this chapter has elevated love, the last verse throws in some “runner ups” — faith and hope — without expounding on them.  Even though faith and hope are essential to the Christian life and community, the greatest is love.  The next two posts will look at how faith and hope stand next to love.  You can subscribe to be notified by e-mail of new posts.

Bottom line: Focus on what really matters.

We could probably make a long list of ways to show people we truly care.  In this post, however, we are only going to consider four ways we might not always think about as ways to show we care.

1)  Show them how the Gospel meets their deepest needs.  Notice I said “show” them.  Verbally explain it but also live it out.  Come along side of them in a way that helps them understand the reality of life in Him.

When people see it isn’t just about your agenda, but about them and their needs, then they will get the message that you care.

2)  Use the Bible not only to tell them “about” the Lord but also as a tool to connect them “with” Him.  If having a relationship with the Lord is the most important thing in life, then that should be your ultimate goal even in how you teach/preach God’s Word.

When people see that you aren’t merely trying to indoctrinate them but really want what is best for them, then they will get the message that you care.

3)  Make sure they truly understand what is vital.  Don’t just assume people are getting it.  Ask questions.  Observe.  Listen to what they are saying.

When people see that you are not merely putting in your time but truly want them to learn and grow, then they will get the message that you care.

4)  Be prepared.  Invest time and attention into your ministry efforts, giving people the sense that they are worth it to you.  Being prepared also prevents many problems, thus making it a better experience all around.

When people see that you aren’t just doing enough to simply get by but are giving them your best, then they will get the message that you care.

Do people you serve know that you care?  Is that the message you are communicating?