It seems clear, from the various analogies and metaphors the apostle Paul uses to describe the Christian life, that there is a constant striving after something, but what is that something we need to be continually striving for? Paul writes about being a soldier for Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4), and likens the Christian to an athlete who must train diligently for participation in the Roman theatre, or perhaps to a labouring farmer who not only toils to enrich the lives of those around him, but is able also to share in the fruit of his hard work (2 Timothy 2:6).

When we come to 1 Corinthians 13, we can see that all of the above examples may well be suitable expressions of Christian living, but I may be still left with the question: ‘what is my greatest need as a Christian?’ Is it to strive for the gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the previous chapter? These were certainly given to edify the church and confirm the validity of the gospel, but the apostle presents such bestowed spiritual abilities as truly ‘gifts’ to be much desired (1 Corinthians 14:1), but not things we need to strive to attain. So what is the great priority in the Christian life?  What is the one thing we should earnestly pursue?

Paul’s answer to this question is that the greatest need of the Christian is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

We could break this important chapter down into three simple sections as follows:

Many things may be good and profitable in the Christian life, some may even be impressive, but love is essential. Nothing can be compared with love but, more importantly, nothing in the Christian life, in Christian conduct and behaviour, or the possession of any or all of the spiritual gifts, can make up for the lack of love (vv.1-3).

The apostle doesn’t provide us with a definition of love, instead he masterfully describes how love behaves in practice, revealing the mind of Christ manifested in us through the Spirit (Philippians 2:5). If we are not displaying the Christlike character of love that Paul describes, we are unmoored spiritually, utterly rudderless and impoverished (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). 

Love is eternal and can never fail. Even the spiritual gifts mentioned in chapter 12 will pass away when Christ is revealed: prophecy will be no more, and hope and faith will, likewise, become redundant – but love endures forever. Therefore love is the great priority in the Christian life and is worth striving for daily (vv.8-13). 

We grow in love as we grow in our understanding and appreciation of Jesus’ love for us. As the apostle John taught us: ‘We love because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). Let’s aim to make love the hallmark of our identity in Christ.   

Local congregation:
Grace Communion Peterborough
Farcet Village Hall                                                    
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN

Meeting time:
Sunday 11.00 am

Local congregational contact:
Richard Dempsey
Email:  richard.dempsey@btinternet.com
Local church website: GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH PETERBOROUGH – Landing Page

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church