“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
This verse has always been of interest to me. You can essentially have all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with which you can move mountains and do exploits in this world – but if you do no have love, you are nothing and gain nothing. Let that sink in. Nothing means no thing…as in, jack, zero, zilch. Essentially, love is the anchor that makes everything work in the Kingdom.
When Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the most important, He replied in Mathew 22: 37-40 that: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Romans 8:28
Faith works by love — for if we have all these things and lack charity, we have nothing.
