1 Corinthians 13:8-13: a reflection

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. 13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

Paul is talking about spiritual gifts, and he relativizes even the impressive ones: prophecies will pass away, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass away. But one thing, he says, love never fails. In the great list of things that seem valuable, love is the one that does not end. And he sets it above even the two greatest companions of the faith: now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Notice why love ranks highest. Faith and hope are magnificent, but they are, in a sense, for now, for the time when we do not yet see. When we come face to face, Paul says, faith becomes sight and hope becomes possession; but love goes on. Love is not a means to something else that will be superseded; it is the thing itself, the very life of God, and it continues forever. That is why, of the three, love is the greatest.

And Paul reminds us how partial everything is now: we see in a mirror dimly; we know only in part; then we shall see face to face and know fully. So much of what we prize, our knowledge, our understanding, our spiritual achievements, is partial and passing. Love is not. If you want to invest your life in what will last, invest it in love, of God and of people, because when everything else has passed away and we see face to face, love will remain. The greatest of these is love; make it the greatest in your life.

Lord, so much of what I prize is partial and passing, but love never fails; it endures forever, the greatest of faith, hope, and love. Help me invest my life in what will last, in love of you and of people, rather than in the partial things that will pass away. Make love the greatest thing in me, as it is the greatest in your eyes.