If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
I wanted to use this post to reference back to my last two posts. First, in Moving at the Speed of Trust, I spoke about the importance of forgiveness not only to the community of believers, but in our own hearts as well. Last post, in Overflow, I spoke about how we must fill up with the living water that Jesus spoke about, that we might overflow on others. There is one attitude and attribute at the core of both of these things; love.
Love is at the core of all things as a Christian. The love of the Father towards us through Jesus is what saves us. His kindness leads to our repentance. Jesus sets this example of loving us and calls us to love like Him. He teaches us to not only love others as we love ourselves (as was taught in the Old Testament), but to love others as He has loved us (John 13:34). This higher calling of love is far above the "good" we can muster to do on our own.
Whatever good deeds we do must be out of a heart of genuine love as both an imitation and representation of the love that Jesus has for us. Fill up with God's love with me by meditating on the Gospel, that we may spill out this love in every area of our lives.