The Law of Love
Without love, absolutely nothing is of any significance. Paul made this point when he wrote:
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.
These are some impressive religious activities: speaking in tongues, prophetic powers, understanding mysteries, having all knowledge, mountain-moving faith, giving away possessions, sacrificing one’s life. Christians are often impressed by miraculous powers, supernatural gifts, and altruism. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with these acts.
Yet they are all devoid of any real value if they are not done with love and in love. They’re nothing more than religious noise. Paul was saying that the only criteria that matters when assessing the value of any activity is this: Does it ascribe and promote the unsurpassable worth of God’s people?
Today it is quite common for Christians to be impressed with inspiring worship music, eloquent sermons, awe-inspiring church structures, and rapidly growing congregations. Paul is telling us that, if such things do not flow from and contribute to love, they are nothing more than an irritating clashing cymbal. They are “nothing,” and we are just wasting our time.
Even more, we may actually be doing something worse. By engaging in all these wonderful activities without love while making all this “religious noise,” we are actually providing a distracting counterfeit to the one thing that is needful. It is quite easy not to notice that we are unloving when our religious activities are going so well! Our religious noise drowns out the cry of God’s heart.
“God is love” (1 John 4:16). And as Peter instructed: “Above all, maintain constant love for one another” (1 Peter 4:8). God calls us to fill every aspect of our life with love, for love ultimately defines every aspect of God’s life.
—Adapted from Repenting of Religion, pages 53-57.
Category: General
Tags: God is Love, Living in Love, Love One Another, Rule of Love
Related Reading
The Perfect Love of God
The Father, Son and Spirit exist as the infinite intensity and unsurpassable perfection of eternal love. We know this about the triune God not by speculation but because Jesus demonstrated that love (Rom 5:8) in his willingness to go to the furthest extreme possible to save us. When the all-holy God stooped to become our…
A Brief Theology of the Trinity
“The economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity, and the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity.” This is the maxim introduced by the Catholic theologian Karl Rahner that should shape our discussion of the Trinity. It is simply a short-hand way of saying that since the way God is toward us in Christ truly reveals God,…
How Much Are You Worth?
We know what something is worth to someone by what they are willing to pay for it. Consider, then, what our heavenly bridegroom was willing to pay to redeem us and make us his bride. Out of his love for us, the all-holy God was willing to do nothing less than to go to the…
The Rule of Love
The traditional confession that Scriptura sacra sui ipsius interpres (“Sacred Scripture is its own interpreter”) presupposes that there is one divine mind behind Scripture, for example. Moreover, Church scholars have traditionally assumed that Scripture’s unity can be discerned in a variety of concepts, motifs, themes and theologies that weave Scripture together. And to speak specifically of the…
The Only Thing That Matters Is Love: The Kingdom of God (Part 3)
To say that living in Calvary-quality love is the most important thing in our life is to grossly understate its importance. This stands in distinction from how we typically define the Kingdom of God. But it stands in line with the fact that Jesus is the Kingdom of God. Paul says the “the only thing…
Are We Supposed to Balance Love and Truth?
Often people say, “Yes we must love. But we must balance love with truth.” “Love has its place, but we must not forget God’s wrath.” “Love must never take the place of correct biblical doctrine.” Two points need to be made. First, if we take seriously the biblical teaching that the love command is the…