THE EXCELLENCE OF LOVE
It was the 1960’s and I remember as a kid on New Years Eve, at midnight all of us would go outside in the front yard or sometimes we were allowed to go into the street with all of our loud celebrations.
It was that one time a year we could make as much noise as we wanted to ring in the New Year.
Traditionally we would clang pots and pans together or anything else we could last minute scramble from around the house.
Anything that could be loud and obnoxious the better.
Obviously, nobody could hear anybody else talk because we were all busy yelling and screaming, whistling and laughing. We were so loud that nobody could hear a word anybody else was saying.
As a kid, it was a blast 💥
It reminds me so much of this verse.
. **If I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels but do not have love I have become a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.
So If I say, “I love you” with my words but I’m not doing the things that actually show you love, then I have become the person that’s slamming pots and pans together out in the middle of the street on New Years Eve. And my words are meaningless.
So then, How do we show love?
Have you ever known somebody really important? Somebody that knows a lot about a lot of things? Or even a lot about just one thing.
Some people will tell you everything they know without even having to ask them. They might feel their worth is in what they know more than how they love.
Maybe that person is you. Or maybe it’s me. You might have a college degree or even two, or just very knowledgeable.
I know people that seem to have a lot of faith, they believe the impossible is possible. And I believe them too. So that means I have faith.
Those all seem like really good qualities to have. And why wouldn’t they be.
Knowledge is important. Faith is important.
Without knowledge we wouldn’t have explored space and have the technology we have today.
That seems really important.
The list goes on and on. Science, physics, math, philosophy. So much knowledge is available. Even ask google.
It reminds me so much of the next verse.
. **If I have the gift of prophesy 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.
These are all very good things to have. Knowledge, mysteries solved, knowing enough to predict the future, faith to move a mountain.
These are genuine qualities and they have existed for as long as the earth has been around. None of these things in themselves are bad.
I hope and pray for more of these aspects in my own life all the time. However, if I have real answers to tough questions and if I can solve life greatest mysteries but I can’t show love to somebody in a way they know I love them, then everything I’ve ever learned or known is worthless.
So then, How do we show love?
5 years ago we decided to downsize in a major way and sell nearly everything we had. After living on a small farm where we raised our 4 kids, we moved into a 2 bedroom apartment. We left the 5 acres with a barn full of animals (meaning we sold most all of it) then we moved into the apartment.
We filled up 2 small garages at the new place and slowly got rid of almost everything that we had accumulated from nearly 3 decades of life.
At one point, some of our things weren’t selling so my husband suggested we just give it away.
But to whom I asked.
His reply was,
“To those in need” then he said, “How about the refugees from Iraq.”
Our church at the time was supporting refugees fleeing other countries during hard times in the Middle East.
So I called our church and they connected me to a family that would be arriving soon and would have a great need for much of what we owned. I will never forget the first time I met this beautiful family of six, they had spent the last year in Egypt trying to safely get to the US.
Our interpreter asked her, “what did they need.” EVERYTHING! was her reply. My answer back was, “We have everything and we need nothing.” Her and I in our barrier of words spoke the common language of tears, we understood each other perfectly and it was beautiful.
. **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.
This may be a really good story, and it’s a true story. In fact, it changed our lives forever on so many levels.
However, if I am not showing love to them or anyone else for that matter. If I do good works and can’t follow up with loving people then what profit is it?
As a matter of fact, the following week this beloved family was able to pick up the things they needed and then they invited several of us over for a dinner at their friends home. When we walked in, the entire living room had a beautiful large linen in the middle of their flood with an entire spread of the most colorful foods imaginable. The aroma in the air was glorious. We felt like we were somewhere in the Middle East.
We sat on the floor next to people we couldn’t understand. And the Smiles were enough for that night.
The moment was magical. The love they reciprocated changed us forever, to this day.
And many years later, We are still great friends.
So then, How do we show love?
