If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Love is a way of being. It's a rule of life we can choose to follow.

But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
1 Corinthians 8:1

Love gives our gifts purpose.

"Paul is combating here the false view of Christian spirituality present in Corinth and its consequences, which entailed a fractured community. For Paul, the essence of true spirituality is self-sacrificial love, not gifts, knowledge, or miraculous power."

Bottom Line: Even the most impressive things are worthless without love.

“If you want a good litmus test of your spiritual growth, simply examine the nature and quality of your relationships with others.”
― M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation

Action Steps

Prayerful Reflection

1. Where am I more concerned with appearing impressive than loving like Jesus?
2. Which person/people in my life do I struggle showing agapē love to?
3. Bring to God a situation where you're having a hard time envisioning what love looks like and ask Him for wisdom and clarity.
4. Ask God to help you act out of love even when you don't feel like it.
   

Practice
This week, pick one situation and use this framework to evaluate your actions/motives:

1. Would I still be doing this if no one was looking or if nobody knew?
2. Am I doing this to make my name great or make God's name great?
3. What does agapē love look like in this situation?