Love

If we do anything without love, “it profits nothing” as St. Paul said in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Even if we have the most faith, the gift of prophecy and all other gifts, they have no value if we have no love. Because not having love, means not knowing God, because “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)

Everything we do should come because of the love of God in us, “If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). Love is a fruit of the Spirit, which means it is something that we need to have if we are real Christians and not hypocrites, and it is also the greatest gift. This is why John says “He has given us of His Spirit.”

Knowledge about God, the Church, and the Scriptures, and dedication also has no meaning if we do not have the love of God. “Because knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Puffs up means to become proud or arrogant, and this is seen more often in Orthodox Churches because of the nature of the way we worship compared to other denominations, because of the long liturgy and the difficult hymns based off the style of chant (which uses twelve notes instead of seven), this can lead to a lot of pride and competition among those who KNOW compared to those who DO NOT KNOW, because they want to show off, parade themselves, in front of the others to show that they might be better. Pride is the worst sin that can be committed because it is a fire that does not stop until it has defeated the other whom it is competing with, it was through pride that Satan became Satan. An interesting note about pride and burning, Lucifer, the name of Satan when he was still in Heaven in the presence of God, means “Day Star,” and the word literally means, “The Shining One.” Satan means “The Adversary,” and the word comes from the root that means, “The Burning One.”

So we should not forget that God is love, and He commanded us not to sin and to be like Him, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-5)

Our goal is to be with God, who is infinite and eternal, so if we truly love Him who is Love, there can be no competition. Because our goal is not to become better than someone else but it is to always be conformed to the image and likeness of God, who is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Love bears all things and never fails. So we should stop trying to compete with each other over, and we should stop trying to magnify ourselves, because our goal is not to be the greatest over others and look down on everyone else, but it is to be conformed to the image and likeness of God who is “above all,” (Ephesians 4:6), as C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

May God grant us the gift and virtue of true love, that we may know Him more and more, and always continue to grow in love toward Him and each other, that we may be conformed to His image and likeness, Our Lord Jesus Christ. And glory be God both now and forever, and unto the age of all ages. Amen.