The Love Of God - Part 9

The Love Of God - Part 9

There are many different virtues that Christians are told to pursue. Of all the virtues in the Bible, there is one that stands out as the greatest of them all. That is love.

I can make the case for that statement. In Galatians 5, there is a list of virtues that are called the fruits of the spirit. There are 9 of these fruits, but love is listed first. In Biblical lists, the most important item is generally mentioned first.

In addition, in the greatest chapter about love, I Corinthians 13, Paul ends the chapter with this statement:

1 Corinthians 13:13

“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

If I were making that list, would I value love more than faith? I’m not sure that I would. Likewise, hope is vital to living a productive and meaningful life. So, why does love find its way to the top of these lists? Colossians 3 helps us understand just why love is so important.

Colossians 3:14

“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

In Galatians, love is the primary fruit of the Christian faith. In I Corinthians, there has to be love or faith and hope have no value. In Colossians, love is the bond that makes unity meaningful.

It comes down to this: you can have faith, hope, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, unity and a hundred other qualities and traits, but without love, they are empty and hollow. Love is the glue of the Christian faith.

That’s why love is so important. It’s what makes faith meaningful, hope possible, and unity worthwhile. Every Christian quality rests upon the foundation of love to give it value and meaning. That’s because God is love and it’s why He sent His Son in the first place.

That’s the power of love.