If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels, yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 TPT
The world loves drama. The world is focused on the things it can see, feel, hear, taste or smell. The senses become the guiding light for the world, and even in its courts of law, evidence is tied to what you can prove using these senses. However, the Word of God seems to flow in a different direction. What makes the Spirit tick isn't so much what is outside and can be backed up with the human senses, but what flows from the inside out. Everywhere Jesus speaks in the New Testament, He kept referring to the inner work that God does in a man's life which then manifests on the outside. It then means that if all I can point out in my life is that which is physical, and nothing about the work of the Holy Spirit inside me, then I cannot, with certainty, claim that God is at work in me.
Today's extract brings this out in sharp focus. I can seek the knowledge of men that helps me to speak in several tongues of men. I can seek spiritual knowledge that also helps me to speak in the tongues of angels. Yet, there is a foundation on which my speaking must rest if it is to turn out right, and that is the foundation of love. I may be able to navigate complex situations by being intellectual; I can speak out deep mysteries about the spiritual plane, yet there will be no substance to it because all I do is not predicated on the nature of God, which is Love.
The importance of love cannot be overemphasised. Think about it: how does a person seek knowledge outside his/her area of comfort, and not have love as the basis of the search? How does a person seek to speak spiritual and angelic mysteries, and not have love as the foundation? It then means that it is not the search that matters to God, but the foundation and reason for the search. If all I desire is to shine out and be on top, I may get there but I would have burnt bridges behind me which I will not be able to go back on. If all I desire is to be noticed, I may get that, but get nothing of God's approval or backing.
And what am I without God's approval? What can I achieve if I am not helped by God? And how can God help me if I do not place myself under His control and influence? And Love is the inner and outer proof of a life that has been totally surrendered to God. Such a person isn't seeking recognition for its sake, but that God may be glorified through all he does. A person who has God's love in him/her does not struggle for impact or impressions. I do not need to shout to be heard; I just need to allow the flow of the Holy Spirit in and through my life. Every other thing a life produces, which is not inspired by the help and presencs of the Holy Spirit, is noise. And how do people deal with noise? They shut it in or out; it is confined to a place or space, with limited or no impact anymore. If I will move the world for God, the secret isn't in what I say or do by myself, but WHO lives in and works through me, inspiring all that I say and do. His time of favour is here.
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