The Greatest of These is Love

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

I have always thought this was an interesting verse. If I didn’t know this verse and someone had asked me which was the greatest – faith, hope, or love – I would probably say “faith”. To have faith is to believe in the God who has created us and accept His plan for our lives. As Hebrews defines it,

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:2

… and the chapter continues with a list of people in the Bible who have lived their lives in various ways “by faith”.

To me, faith appears to be the connecting point, the point where we decide to follow God and as I said, believe in Him – believe He exists, believe He loves us, believe He died for us.

As I think about the verse in 1 Corinthians more deeply, however, I see that love is really the foundation of the universe.

1. First and foremost, the Bible says that “God is love”. ( 1 John 4:8 ) That’s a pretty big statement. God equates Himself with love. HE is love. If we look at the character of God, therein we see love – His compassion, patience, strength, holiness, righteousness, perfectness, nobleness, goodness… He encompasses love.
   
2. God, who is love, has always existed. At one point, He decided to make an extravagant world, out of love. He created a beautiful world that was “good”. He created humankind and gave them the fruit of their labor, the fruit of their land, and the fruit of their relationship with Him. He did not create robots who would automatically serve Him. He created beings who could *choose* to love Him. The world was created, out of love, from God.
   
3. Jesus summed up the commandments this way:
   
   Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
   
   Following God’s commandments is all about love. We obey God and try to please Him because we love Him.
   
   He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. 1 John 2:4-5
   
4. At the end of the world, faith and hope will dissipate, but love will continue. Faith and hope both involve believing in and looking forward to things that we do not see and things that have not yet happened. At the end of the world, everything will be made clear and perfect, and there will essentially be no more need for faith and hope.
   
   However, love will continue throughout eternity in the midst of God and His people.

There are many verses that emphasize the importance of love in the Bible, above other qualities. It is the underpinning of the universe and the glue that solidifies our relationship with God and people.

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