1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Everything you do, do out of love. Love is the greatest gift of all. The experiences we look back on with fondness are all acts of love. The memories we share are a result of love. Love is the greatest gift to mankind. God is love. 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love”. Love equals God and in order to know love and how to love, you have to know the source which is God.
When we have been treated poorly or had experiences that are traumatic, it usually was a result of the absence of love. The circumstance is usually around a person who didn’t chose love and didn’t act out of love. As a single parent, my child would often ask me, “Why doesn’t my father send me a card for my birthday or Christmas or even try to contact me?” My response, wisdom given to me by my loving Father, was “Your father loved you and cried the day you were born. However, Sweetheart, I believe he didn’t know “how” to love.” That was truth. Don’t assume that people know how to love. They may not have been taught love, know love or even know God. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we get a heart transplant with a new heart. A heart that is capable of love. A heart that is soft, made of flesh and not hard or made of stone.
Love also covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 states, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” There is power also in love. It covers a multitude of sins. This means our own individual sins and even those who have sinned against us. This verse came alive and personal for me when I was led by the Holy Spirit to tell someone who was literally speaking evil over me and my life to say “I love you”. This stopped the evil in their tracks and they became silent because they were powerless in the face of love. So, in the face of adversity, trials or tribulations, love is your defender. Love will be your protector and shield. Love will fight your battles for you!
In 1 Corinthians 13, it tells us if we have the gift of speaking in tongues, prophecy and other blessings, and if we do not have love—we do not have anything. If we have faith to move mountains but don’t have love, we can do nothing. So, this Valentine’s day and month, act in love, speak from love and take this opportunity to love someone with the love of God. Even greater would be to love those that are incapable of love. It will impact them forever. It will be the best gift we can ever give. I love you,
Pastor Dr. Deb Walsh
