Fortress of Faith: Study Eight- Foundation of Love

"1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13 v 1-13

This week concludes "Foundation of Faith."  Next week, there will not be a Fortress of Faith study as I will be spending the next two weeks praying and learning where how to proceed.  Thank you so much for joining us as we learn about His Love for us, and as we learn from 1 Corinthians 13 how we share His love with others.

1 Corinthians 13 verse 13 is arguably one of the most popular verses about love in the Bible.  Prayers, sermons, songs, and other Bible studies have been wrapped around the simple yet powerful verse.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

Think about this:  As Christian women, we have Faith.  Faith in a God we know in our hearts but cannot introduce with a handshake to our friends and family.  Faith in a Holy Spirit that we cannot begin to explain to ourselves, let alone non-Christians, yet we have no doubt of its existence and its influence in our lives.  Faith in a Shepherd, as the Son of God, as our Savior, as the One who conquered sin and death.  As Christian women, we have been given a beautiful, wondrous gift of Faith.  And we are better women for it!

Also, as Christian women, we have Hope!  We have hope that our Faith will carry us through those times when we feel like He is silent.  We have hope that those we love with all our hearts will also come to know our God, our Holy Spirit, our Savior.  We have hope that no matter how good or bad this life is there is an eternal life so much richer and full than this life.  We have hope, and so no fear of death.

But look at the end of the verse.  We know we have His Love!  We know we share His Love.  We know that love is just one of many gifts He has given to us, but this verse, as does the entire chapter, and really, the entire Holy Bible, tells us that of ALL the blessings and gifts He has given to us, the greatest of these gifts is the gift of Love. 

We know this to be true.  In our human relationships, we know this to be true.  Anyone can get married, but if love is not the basis of that marriage, the marriage quickly turns into mere shades of what it might be.   In our relationships with our children, we know that if we discipline without love we do more damage than good.  In our relationships with our friends, if we fellowship without love, the friendships become hollow and dry.   However, so long as love drives our relationships, we find them to be deep, meaningful, and beneficial to everyone!

The same is true with the Love He has given to us.  His Love to us is seen in the culmination of gifts given to us when Christ sacrificed Himself for our sins.  We have Faith.  We have Hope.  We have Love.  Again, Faith without Love strives and becomes weak and easily swayed, easily deceived.  Hope without Loves is easily forgotten, buried in the recesses of our hearts while we try to slog on through the trials and tribulations.  

Let us not forget His Love as the foundation of our Faith so we can build on that foundation becoming closer to Him and sharing His love with others!

Thank you for being apart of this study.  I hope this study has encouraged you of His love for you, and motivated you to live a more loving life reflective of His gifts to you.  If you have enjoyed this Study, I hope you will join us in two weeks for the part of Fortress of Faith! 

Copyright © 2012 C.H.Borden