If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
God measures the contribution of my life in terms of love-output!
In God’s eyes, my life isn’t measured by any amazing ministry gifts I might have, or by my faith. Even sacrificial giving to help the poor is not at the heart of what God is looking for. Nor is He after the kind of dedication that would end in me dying for my faith.
All of these things may be significant to God, but only when they flow from love! As John says in 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” This kind of love is impossible for us to generate. You don’t have to somehow work it up. It doesn’t originate with you at all. It’s God’s life—His love—at work in and through you.
If you struggle to see love motivating your life, invite God to love those in your life through you. Pray about it each morning. Think of the people in your life and ask God to love them through you.
For more from John North and Ambassadors for Christ International, please click here.