It amazes me how the Lord graciously reminds me time and time again that everything is about Love. Lately, the driving prayer inside of me has been for my heart to just be kept in what Paul called, “the most excellent way.” And that is the way of Love.
I love this so much. So you’ve got in 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talking about all the spiritual gifts and earnestly desiring them. Awesome stuff. But then something so cool happens. In last part of verse 31 and goes,
“And now I will show you the most excellent way.” (NIV)
It’s like he stops, turns to the side and opens up a hidden door to this magnificent room. And hence begins the famous “love” chapter of 1 Corinthians 13.
The most excellent way. That will never get old to me. The way of love is the highest thing, the primary thing we are called to in this life. It’s simply what He wants the most from us, our hearts. We could walk in all those things Paul lists in the first few verses of chapter 13 yet still not have love. That’s crazy to me. It reminds me of how in Matthew 7, Jesus explains how many people who did signs and wonders in His name will be told by Him that He never knew them (verses 21-23). There was no intimacy with Him.
This morning the part in chapter 13 that really struck me was how Paul says that he could give his body to be BURNED and do it without love and gain nothing. When I think of something like that, that seems like such a noble and great thing ya know? And it truly is. But just the reality that struck me was that you could do something like that apart from love. Unless you’re heart is burning with love on the inside, burning your body on the outside will mean absolutely nothing.
I’m just so aware of how easy it is for my heart to get distracted from this most excellent way, from the first and greatest commandment, from the “one thing needed.” It’s so easy to forget that when we stand before Jesus one day He really is going to ask us this question,
“Did you learn to love?”
I want that question to be before my heart every single day. I really do want to be able to present to Him a heart that’s burning alive with the fire of His love. For it to be said of me that in every single season, that I learned to love Him and the people He’s placed in my life and around me well. And loved well by His definition of love.
I want to really live in light of the fact that one day all of my works in this life are going to be tested by fire (1 Cor 12-14). And that fire isn’t just something seperate from Him. It’s His very nature, it’s who He is. In Song of Solomon 8:6 it says,
“For love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.”
So it’s the fire of His LOVE that’s going to be what’s testing all our works one day. Love is the standard by which our lives are going to be measured. And if we’ve given our lives for the pursuit of loving Him and others then we’ll yield that gold, silver, and costly stones.
Peter echoes the reality of our works being evaluated one day in 1 Peter 1 where he says,
“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” (verse 17)
I’m learning that the fear of the Lord is really simply living before those passionate eyes of fire every moment of every day. Just staying in His gaze of love all the time. But before I bunny trail on the fear of the Lord, I’ll just stop and save stuff for another day.
Back in that section in 1 Corinthians 3, it says that our reward will be given to us if our works that we’ve build upon the foundation of Christ endure (verse 14). And I looooooove how that connects right to 1 Corinthians 13 where it says in verse 7 that love “endures all things.” IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT LOVE!!
My heart’s just so stirred to keep asking the Lord to keep me in this most excellent way all the days of my life. I sure can’t do it myself, it has to be Him. Praise the Lord we have a Helper who is more than happy to lead us in the way of Love. After all, it was His idea and He wants it way more than I do lol.
If this is something that’s really resonating in you, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this new song by Misty Edwards and David Brymer called “Measure of A Man.” It’s basically all about this reality and is the absolute heart cry for myself right now. I’ve just listened to it on repeat over and over a couple times already. Take a listen!
“When it’s all been said, when it’s all been done, when the race is run, well it all comes down to love.” (Misty Edwards)
