As far as Paul is concerned, the most glorious gifts given to us by God are of absolutely no value to us without love. All of the good things we do for others will do no good to us if not done from a heart of true love for others and for God. Nor will we profit from the most painful of sufferings if we do not have love.
How foolish it is to think that one can simply live a life of good works and expect to receive a reward in heaven! Friends, the only entrance we have into heaven is by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. When a person has been covered by the blood of Christ, he is made new. Paul says that this regeneration will yield a divine love which dwells in our hearts. This love "is patient and kind;" it "does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (vv 4-6).
O how I long to be a person who is filled with that kind of love! Don't you? Of course, we all do. The problem is that we try so hard to love. And that makes sense, right? If you want to be more loving, you try really hard to love more. But that's not the way the Bible says we will become more loving. The way to become more loving, is to walk closer to the One whose love we want to emulate.
Try it. I guarantee you the closer you get to Jesus, the more you will become one who loves as he does.
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