Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I Corinthians 13 - Part Two

1 Corinthians 13:2-3 – And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody). Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing. (AMP)

It is much more important to possess God’s love than spiritual power or prowess, or to have all knowledge. Without God’s love we are useless even if we possess all those other things. God possesses all those things in addition to His love, and His use of them is motivated by and within the context of His love for us.

God’s love is the only basis for our value and worth. What you can do has no bearing on your value. Talent, intelligence, possessions, human reputation, human relationships, hard work and striving, beauty, or human success, etc., will never add to or take away from your value! It is only through God’s love that we have any value. God loves every person who has ever existed and ever will exist. Therefore we are all valuable. No matter what choices we make, even if we choose to reject God’s love, He will always love us and we will always have great value. This is one of the great tragedies of Hell: all that value is wasted because men chose stubbornness and self-righteousness over God’s love. Our God-given purpose does not stop at death. I was watching "House" the other night and the ever benevolent doctor (yes, you do detect a note of sarcasm) said that dead people have no value. But he was wrong. God has purpose for our entire existence – primarily to have relationship with Him throughout eternity. But my purpose here is not to get into doctrine, so I'll go ahead and end that discussion.

People strive to make themselves valuable in their own eyes rather than choosing to accept the value God places on us – a value that is far greater than what they could ever bestow upon themselves. No matter how hard they try, they cannot bestow any real value upon themselves. Even if they could bestow a great amount of value upon themselves, God’s value would still far exceed what they could do for themselves.

Again, your actions do not add to or take away from your value. Only God’s love gives you value. And His love never ends, so your value will never end. His love is constant, so your value is constant. Stop striving to be valuable on your own terms and accept the value that God alone gives you through His love.

In addition, God’s love must be the basis for any actions you take in order for them to have any eternal value. No matter how benevolent your actions are, if they aren’t motivated by God’s love, they have no lasting benefit.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good Steph.