LOVE’S PRIMACY

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these – Mark 12: 30-31

Love’s primacy speaks of the importance and significance of love. Love is greater than and superior to any other spiritual gift. These first three verses mention six spiritual gifts: tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, giving, and martyrdom. The first four gifts are also listed in Romans 12:8-10. The list begins with the gift of tongues, the last gift mentioned in chapter 12 and also the main topic of chapter 14. The ‘love chapter’ bridges this context of spiritual gifts. The inference is that I can speak in tongues all I want, but if I don’t have love I am merely making a cacophony of noise.

Prophecy refers to the ability to forth-tell and to declare God’s truth in a powerful, life-changing way. Knowledge involves deep insight and understanding of the Word of God. Faith is the unique ability to trust God for anything. Giving to the poor is considered a good and noble thing to do. Likewise is the willingness to die for one’s faith in Christ – the ultimate sacrifice. But as good as these things are, without love they are of least value. All of these gifts come from the Holy Spirit; yet without love the person who has them is “nothing” – spiritually vain and of no eternal value.

We could summarize these three verses thus: Without love…I SAY nothing (vs.1), I AM nothing (vs.2), and I GAIN nothing (vs.3). LOVE is the greatest expression of spirituality! The best of gifts are valueless unless exercised in love. Spiritual gifts must be exercised on the basis of Love, for them to be of any enduring benefit or eternal essence.

Ponder for just a moment and reflect on your spiritual gifts relative to your ministry in the Body of Christ and service to humanity. Do you do what you do out of authentic and genuine love for God and for His people? Or do you serve out of a sense of duty and obligation? Do you serve simply because of the satisfaction you derive from ministry? Do you minister because you like honing your skills? Although no one can claim to have perfectly pure motives, we ought to be seeking to grow in our love quotient. Love is primate. Love is powerful. Love is an action, not a mere emotion; therefore, we need to put feet to our love. On the basis of love, we can say something of value, become worthy vessels, and profit eternally in the exercise of our spiritual gifts.