The following passage is my wife's favorite passage of scripture. Many Christians also feel this way. It is not easy to do, and can only be done in the power of the Spirit of God. It is a high mark for which all people should aim.
1 John 4:16 tells us that “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him..” We know that we are supposed to be loving and Paul tells us in no uncertain terms that without love, anything we say or do even if we are gifted in fantastic ways is meaningless.
“Though I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
Now, let me make sure I understand this. St. Paul seems to be saying that I can be an eloquent preacher of the gospel, with my worship services broadcast by satellite around the world, but if I have a heart full of hatred and indulge in character assassination, I am a bunch of noise. I can have my Ph. D. in nuclear physics, be a Nobel prize winner with several books to my credit, but if I’m not able to relate to my family, I’ve accomplished nothing. I can be a world class athlete, totally committed to being the best I can be, but if I care not for others, my gold medals are a sham. Is that what St. Paul is saying? Gee, I can think of some people who are not going to want to hear that. But here is the first thing St. Paul says to us: The only excellence that counts in life is excellence in love.
I can't say I am completely successful in acting out this more excellent way, but I see it as a goal worth pursuing, how about you?
