And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Cor. 13:2 ESV
Everytime I read this verse I think of the possibility of having a strong faith and an extensive knowledge of God’s word yet not having the love that shows people the way to Christ. There are faithful people like this. They have become so “Heavenly minded, they are no earthly good? They believe God’s word and have a great command of scripture, yet they are so legalistic about their handling of God’s word they forget to impart God’s love.
The Pharisees were like this. They knew the word of God inside and out, yet missed the heart of what God was saying in His word. Jesus made this abundantly clear when He was dealing with the Pharisees; "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Matt. 23:23 ESV As much as the Pharisees tried to live by God’s word and be very religious, they were missing some very important points in God’s teachings. They weren’t practicing justice, mercy and faithfulness.
We too can become Pharisaical in our practices. We can be so wrapped up in being religious and scripturally accurate, we miss out on sharing the weightier matters of God’s word with those we reach out to. Paul finished off his passage with “but have not love, I am nothing.” This tells me that we too must be very careful about pursuing gifts, talents and legalistic religious perfection or we may miss the point of what matters most to God; justice, mercy and faithfulness. Love must be the driving force behind all that we do for the Lord.
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So today, let’s purpose to serve God on His terms and practice justice, mercy and faithfulness in love.
© 2013 Leo J. Woodman
