“Though I speak with the tongues of men and
of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging
cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians
13:1-2
My son used to play drums, and early on
when he was learning I can remember the sound of a “clanging cymbal”. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, when the rest of the music was good,
it was sort of annoying. It cut into the
music like a dull knife, knocking out of memory the soothing sounds of the rest
of the music. But as he learned to play
the drums better, it was the cymbals that made all the difference. They were the sounds chiming into the rhythm
of the bass and the snare that made the music seem full and well rounded.
There’s a lot of clanging cymbals out
there. There’s a lot of prophecy not
spoken in love, a lot of profound Biblical understanding that is spoken in
condemnation. The message is the same,
just like the music was the same. But
without speaking it in love, no one wants to listen because it’s just annoying,
and cuts like a dull knife. Correct the
church, but do it in love. Lead the lost
to Him, but do it in love.
Of all the spiritual gifts that God gives, let
us desire most the gift of love. It is
love that makes us most like God, who is love (1 John 4:8). The absence of love creates an annoyance when
we express our faith. We can prophecy,
we can apply our hands in healing, and we can express our faith. But if we cannot do it with love, we fail to
employ the gifts of God as He does.
“And we have known and believed the love
that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and
God in him.” – 1 John 4:16
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