(faith + knowlege) - love = nothing

I consider myself fairly logical. I'm not one of those who go by a feeling in my gut. I rarely make decisions by feeling alone (I'm still a woman, ya know. It's kind of apart of the package). In school, I always liked math, as well as a psychology class I took. I think that most things in my life can be organized, analyzed, or simplified.

So is it any wonder that I broke up these verses into a simple equation? :

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so to remove mountains, but if I have not love, I am nothing.

Hence the title. Although I have been on this faith journey for almost eleven years  now, I still find myself trying to figure out the enigma that is salvation and the redeemed life in the fullest sense. I believe every word of Scripture, so I take great faith in the work of Christ and the inconceivable sacrifice of His own life. It's everything I put my hope and trust in, and everything I live for.

I don't try to figure out why He came or why He thought me worthy to die for. That's just it. I wasn't worthy. I'm still not. My puzzle is how do I best respond to this act of loving kindness? How exactly do I live my life in a way that pleases my King above all else?

This is where the equation comes in.

(faith + knowledge) - love = nothing

 

Order of operations states you must first deal with what's in the parenthesis. This means that you can have as much faith as you can imagine, or more...like enough to move a mountain. You can know all the characters and stories and wise statements of the Bible. You can know all the knowledge of the world. Add it all together, but subtract love, and you're left with nothing. Or something in vain.

Sometimes in my own personal Christian life, I think that what I'm lacking is more faith. I just need to trust God more, that's all. Which I do, don't get me wrong. I don't even have Peter's amount of faith which allowed him to walk the waters. Or, maybe I just need to study my Bible more. That's it. I need to spend more time reading, all day every day just reading and memorizing Scriptures. And I do need that.

But God says I need something even more. Love.

Love which never ends. Love which is greater than faith, greater than knowledge, than hope or doing good or trusting. Loving God, and loving others. Loving the sweet infant who only wants to be close and feel secure. Loving those we deem worthy, but also loving the unlovable. Those we don't think deserve it because of all of the terrible things they've done or the hurtful things they've said to us or about us.

However, greater than a lifetime spent reading and performing great acts of faith is one small act of love toward God or another. Did not Christ also say that when we have done something for the least of these, we have done it unto Him?

Love is the thing that motivates us to spread the gospel news to every soul that hasn't experienced the joy of salvation and the comfort of Christ's crucifixion. The greatest of all is love.