Love is an Eternal Gift

Photo by Bernal Saborio

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.  When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.  But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Insights: In these final verses of chapter thirteen we learn love is an eternal gift.  All of these spiritual gifts, which were the cause of dissension and infighting at the church of Corinth will disappear.  In heaven there will be no more need for prophecy or tongues.  The gift of knowledge will be no more and the barrier of sin which inhibits us from learning properly will be removed.  We will be able to think like mature people and learn face to face no longer dimly because of sin.  Let’s take these last three items for a moment.  Faith, hope and love abide right now on this side of eternity, but of these three love is the greatest.  We ought to ask ourselves why this statement is true.  The answer would be, because in heaven we will not exercise faith and love as we do now.  We have faith in Jesus’ saving work on the cross of Calvary.  We do not actually see Jesus, but we have faith to believe He is alive and He has changed our lives.  Just like the wind, we see the evidence of Jesus in our lives.  Just as we do not have to have faith in Jesus once we are seeing Him face to face, so we don’t need hope.  Our hope is that Jesus’ words will come to pass.  He will return for His own one day.  We believe this fact to be resolutely true and as a result we hope for His return.  We do not hope as in a wishful thought, but rather as a declarative reality.  What will we have in heaven if we do not have faith and hope?  We do have love.  1 John 4:8 and 16 reads, “God is love.”  In fact, love is the very core essence of the Lord God.  He enables us to love and He is love.  In heaven, therefore, we experience perfect love without sins interference.  The only way you will ever experience this kind of love is to have a saving relationship with Jesus, God’s very own Son.  If you let Him forgive you of your sins, then you will be born again and will one day experience this kind of love first hand.  I pray you know Jesus or you will get to know Jesus and experience His love.  One last thought, these past three blog post titles were taken from Keith Krell’s sermon from 1 Corinthians 13.

Questions:

1. Do you long for the day in which you will see Jesus face to face?

2. Have you received His love, and therefore, will spend eternity with Him in heaven?

Prayer: Father, I long for the day in which I no longer learn and receive Your love through this tainted world of sin.  May the day of Your culmination come quickly Lord Jesus.  Amen.