A very simple solution
A Simple Message
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”
– I Corinthians 13:1-3
The life of a believer can be a difficult one. As we navigate each day in this ever-changing world, it seems the very concept of doing the right thing becomes more clouded.
What is good? What is bad?
As far as society is concerned, these standards can change as easily as politicians holding a particular office. What once seemed so simple can seem so much more complicated in the modern day.
Thankfully, we can find in scripture a very simple solution to this problem. If we want to live effective lives as believers in Christ, we need simply to love.
The above passage from Paul’s epistle offers us an essential appraisal of the value of love; that being that love is more valuable than anything else.
If we were to look back into the original Greek word Paul uses, we would see that “love” in this case is identified by the word “agape” which is to say a “divine love.” The love of Christ, we are told, is far above and beyond the value of any other gift or work we could ever have or attempt. This applies most directly to our salvation, which is freely given to us by Christ’s love for us, and our acceptance of that love.
Nothing else could earn our way into Heaven, nor could anything else take from us our place. By the love of Christ, we have a free and eternal admission into Heaven as our everlasting home.
To refer back to the first paragraph, we find that living as a believer after accepting Christ’s love is made simpler if we remember the value of Christ’s love. We need not grapple with concepts of right or wrong, or societal standards. Instead, we simply need to love as Christ loves.
When we share this agape love with the world, we live as Christ lived, as Christ instructs us to live. Indeed, as Christ Himself said, all of the law and every prophecy hangs on two simple commandments: love God with all and love your neighbor as yourself.
