“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13:3, 13.
The verse above speaks about serving, without loving. Often God’s people unwittingly observe certain practices associated with Christian living…believing they are ‘doing the right thing.’ They secretly hope these things “qualify them” to be identified as Christians and acceptable to God and to other believers. They would insistently say they are Christians. Yet the passage above tells us that the very core of being a Christian is being a lover…more than a server.
Yes, we are to serve, as Gal. 5:13 says we are to “serve one another in love.” Christianity is a relationship of love. Those who have been pursued by the love of God and captured by His love, those people, are ‘made,’ to be like Him, lovers. They love their families, they love their fellow-believers, they love the Lost and they even love their enemies. Matt. 5:44.
Lovers don’t simply sit around with love in their hearts (Rom. 5:5). They are active in loving. They have a lifestyle of loving. Their minds are greatly exercised and focused on how they can “love on”, all they come in contact with. They open their hearts to them. They open their homes to them. They open their wallets to them. They open their hands to them.
Loving is giving, giving, giving, giving and more giving. Lovers are not worried about their own needs. They are lost in the giving of love to others. Is that you?