Food for Friday
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2
A Canadian boxer who had been in trouble with the law came under the influence of the Gospel, and was saved. He continued his boxing career, and reached the point of fighting for the Canadian championship in his weight class. During the championship match, he was undoubtedly the best man in the ring and the judges gave him a unanimous decision. The boxer’s first words to a reporter who interviewed him on live television after the match were, ‘I want to first of all thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Without Him I am nothing’. It is not just Christian boxers who are nothing without our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That is true of us all. And it is just as true that our lives account for nothing unless they are lived in demonstrating the same love that marked the life of the Lord Jesus.
As human beings, we tend to look at and measure accomplishments. We tend to rank people according to how much they achieve in terms of their careers, their financial situation, the recognition they get from their community, the awards they obtain. And all of those things are important. But what is the driving motive behind human achievement? For most of the things we strive for, the motive is often selfishness, a desire to have more, to go further, to live better, to satisfy our own appetite for food, pleasure, and power. Some people are motivated by envy, cruelty, and many other negative forces. And yet, all of these achievements and motivations are counted as nothing, our text declares, if they are without love.
Around us we see people passionately pursuing their religious goals. For many of them, their motivation is not love but fear, fear of failing to measure up to what their religion demands. Moslem fanatics who throw their lives away in so-called holy jihad do so motivated by hatred against their enemies. Even Christians sometimes lose sight of the liberty into which our salvation has brought us and regard our service for God as duty and ritual. We can accomplish much and learn much as we strive to carry out our responsibilities. But without love, we are making marks only for time and not for eternity.
Love should be the starting point when it comes to the Gospel. Do we have a love for lost souls? Do we really care that those around us are perishing in their sins? Does it grieve us to think of the awful hell that lies before the Christ rejecter, the Christ neglecter, and the Christ ignorant? If our motivation is love, we will want others to hear the Gospel and will strive to make sure they do. How much of love is behind our interactions with our fellow believers? Do our hearts burn with joy as we gather with them around the things of God? Do we delight to bring smiles to their faces, and rush to do little acts of kindness for them on every occasion. If we love them as we ought, our joy would be to serve them more and more. Love is not a thing to have but a life to live, the only kind of life that matters. -Jim MacIntosh