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Why Is Love the Greatest?
by Rev. Patrick Feldhus

Are there any more powerful words to hear than, “I love you”? But what is more powerful…hearing those words or seeing those words in action?

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul describes what love is and what it is not. “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. It does not brag. It is not arrogant. It does not behave indecently. It is not selfish. It is not irritable. It does not keep a record of wrongs. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

How can we as sinful humans measure up to this definition of love? What Paul is describing to us is God’s love for us. He is love and He fulfilled these words by sending His Son to display this love by dying on the cross to rescue the very people who do not love Him or others the way they should. Through faith, we connect to Christ’s love, and we have eternal life! This is the hope that sustains us as we look forward to the resurrection of all flesh and our future with the Lord. But why does Paul say that love is the greatest?

As we continue to live in this world, “Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) But what happens to faith once we see Jesus with our own eyes? Faith will cease to be needed, because we will finally see the physical face of our Savior. However, for now, we live by faith and the hope of the deliverance Jesus has promised. That brings us to hope.

We look forward to our future home with the Lord where sin, death, and the devil no longer trouble us. But what happens to hope when we get to our destination? “But hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he already sees?” (Romans 8:24) Like faith, hope is no longer needed in heaven because we will have everything we could possibly imagine.

This is why love is the greatest. The love we experience from God, the love we experience in this world, will continue, and increase even after we are in heaven! Faith and hope will end, but love goes on forever! We are only experiencing a small fraction of love right now. In heaven, we will love perfectly, because our sinful hearts will no longer limit us! For now, we have faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is and will always be love!

Prayer: Dear loving Savior! Thank you for the gifts of faith, hope, and love. Keep us connected to You by faith so we can hope for the day we will see You face to face. Let Your love continue to empower us to love You and our neighbors. Forgive us for our imperfect love. Help us look forward to the day when we will love You and our neighbors perfectly in heaven. In Your name we pray. Amen.