Alba 2-22-2026
THE GREATEST IS LOVE
I Corinthians 13:11-13
When I was growing up, my mother made my clothes. And not only mine but for all five of us children, and for herself and my dad. She made shirts, dresses, pajamas and many other things. She even made some overalls for dad. Some of the material was store-bought. But some of it came from flour sacks. She even learned to make her own patterns. And what she made looked good. Her in-laws accused her of using up all of dad's money to dress her children so well, but in fact, she was being very frugal.
There is a story about a man who volunteered to accompany his wife on a shopping expedition to the fabric store to purchase cloth so she could make clothes for herself and the children. “This is pretty material,” said the husband, indicating a pastel print. The wife fingered it briefly and said, “Too flimsy. It won’t wear well.” “Then how about this?” persisted the man, pointing to another bolt of cloth. “Strong enough,” said the wife, “but will it wash?” The husband in his inexperience was allowing himself to be influenced by eye appeal. The wife was looking for more lasting qualities. She was a wise woman.
We would also be wise to look for lasting qualities in all areas of our lives, especially in the spiritual realm. There are many good things, but only a few of them will last. Only a few will remain when all else is gone.
I Corinthians 13:11-13 tells us what will remain out of all the things we may think are important. Here is what it says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
The apostle Paul uses the example of being a child who had a different understanding of things once he became a man. Children do have limited knowledge and experience. That is evident in children who are taught to think that they were born in the wrong body. One young girl at age of 16 had a double mastectomy trying to be a boy. Her parents had been told that it was necessary or they would have a dead daughter. But at age 22 the girl regretted the decision realizing it wasn’t the answer, and she had suffered permanent harm. She sued the doctors who were responsible for this “transition”. And just the first of this month the jury awarded $1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering, and an additional $400,000 for future medical expenses. Thankfully there has been a trend away from this false gender ideology.
Hopefully as adults we have learned a few things along the way. The context of I Corinthians is that the Christians were being childish in the way they viewed spiritual gifts. They felt those things were very important, but they were not fully grown in their spiritual walk.
The first verses of First Corinthians thirteen speak of the gifts of tongues, prophecy, faith, generosity, and sacrifice. And not just any kind of tongues, prophecy, faith, generosity and sacrifice, but the ultimate kind. Tongues of men and of angels. Prophecy that fathoms all mysteries and all knowledge. Faith that can move mountains. Generosity that includes every possession. Sacrifice that demonstrates total commitment.
These are normally considered great things. And yet, in comparison to faith, hope and love, these gifts are considered child's play.
Remember back in chapter three Paul spoke to the Christians in Corinth and said about them, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1). He wanted them to grow up spiritually, so as he says at the end of chapter 12, he would show them a “more excellent way”.
And if we are just “babes” in our faith, Peter gives some good advice. In I Peter 2:2-3 he writes, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” What that tells us is that God's Word is food for the soul that gives the nutrients needed for spiritual growth. Without regular feeding on the Word we can become weak. Scripture says that some can become like reeds blowing in the wind, leaning toward whatever direction the wind is blowing. That is not a description of someone with lasting spiritual qualities.
But verse thirteen tells us what to hold on to when the winds blow. When all else is gone, there are three things that remain: faith, hope and love. These are the foundations on which Christians are to build their lives. There are other things we enjoy as Christians, such as God's provision and care, His guidance and direction, His mercy and forgiveness. But our greatest joy comes from believing, hoping and being loved.
I. Faith remains because without it we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6). For if we want to come to God, we must start with believing that He exists, and then we will discover and believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Faith is our first step toward peace with God. In Acts chapter eight, Phillip, one of the seven chosen for a special place of service in the church, was directed to go from Jerusalem to Gaza. And there he met a man from Ethiopia, a eunuch who was treasurer for the queen. The man was reading prophecies from the book of Isaiah. Phillip offered to explain the meaning of what was being read.
In Acts 8:34-38 it says, “So the eunuch answered Philip and said, 'I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” They “went down into the water” because it was a full immersion. But it didn't happen until the man said he believed what the scripture said about Jesus.
That's why we talk so much about Jesus here. Because, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Faith is the first, and also the continuing, step in our walk with the Lord. When all else fails, faith remains.
II. And hope remains. In modern day English, the word hope has a sense of uncertainty. That is not what we are talking about. The natural man hopes for good things in this life, but the spiritual man directs his hope with confidence toward what God has promised to those who love and fear Him.
This is our hope: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3). That is a solid hope that will last through your lifetime and become a reality when arriving on that distant shore of heaven. Hope is faith directed to the future.
The return of Jesus Christ is a major reason that Christians have a hope beyond anything this world can offer. If we lose sight of our reward, our hope will suffer. You know, without hope you have despair. And that works well with Satan who does not want us to have hope. He will attack us and get us down so far that we have no hope, which will cause us to just want to give up.
We need to think more about heaven. If we do, it will cause us to examine how we are living our lives on this earth. When Jesus Christ comes again we will want Him to say, “Well done…” For some, when things are going badly, it is a pleasure to think of the Lord’s return. On the other hand, when things are going well, it is not such a glory to think of the Lord coming back. One preacher said that he was teaching a class and asked how many of them longed for the Lord’s return. One young man said that he wasn’t because he was getting married in a few weeks.
And we know that unsaved people are not eagerly awaiting the Lord’s return. But as saved people we should be longing for the Lord’s return because this helps us to go on in the midst of any suffering or trials we may be experiencing here.
Romans 8:23-24 reminds us that, just as this world looks forward to creation being delivered from the bondage of corruption, it says, “We also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope.” When all else fails, hope remains.
III. And then there is one more thing that will last. And it will last forever. It is love. Love remains. Ultimately when all else fades away, there will be love because God is love. It is a part of His nature. Love is eternal because God is eternal. We can experience love here in this life and also in eternity because love will be the law of heaven.
God has shown His love to us. And such love demands a response. I John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Some translation read simply, “We love because He first loved us.” We were made to love. All humans love. A hardened prisoner in maximum security will still on rare occasions show acts of kindness and love. The greatest tyrants the world has known have often performed isolated acts of kindness and love.
So if we act in loving ways, let’s not pat ourselves on the back. However, if we truly posses love then we should be patient, kind, without envy, without boastfulness, without pride, without rudeness, without selfish ambition, without unrighteous anger, and without keeping a record of wrongs.
We should reject evil, rejoice in the truth, protect, trust, hope, persevere and not fail. Having God's love in our lives should not only help us to keep God's commands, but enjoy doing them. This is the kind of love that Paul expected to see in the Church at Corinth. Because this is the kind of love that God has for us. We receive it through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Verse 12 says that one day we will see face to face. That is a promise that we will stand in the presence of Jesus. And we will know, even as we are known. What will we know? We will more fully know His love, His power, His wisdom. Standing in front of Jesus will make anything we take pride in now look childish. And we will get to see what a mature Christian is supposed to look like.
Again, verse 13 says, “now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. Faith and Hope are used here on earth in order to help us get to heaven. But once we are there, we no longer need faith and hope because our faith will become sight and our hope will become a reality. Love is the greatest because it is truly eternal.
CLOSE:
Norma Lauby, of La Mesa, California, was browsing in the ladies’ department one day with her son who was just learning to read. Trying to read all the signs he could, he came upon one in the maternity department.
“Look, Mom!” he said excitedly as he pointed at the sign. “They’re even making clothes for eternity now!”
(Norma Lauby, La Mesa, CA, “Heart to Heart,” Today’s Christian Woman)
Well, I doubt that the department store chains are making clothes for eternity. But God is. Through His love for us and through faith and our hope in Jesus Christ, God has provided just the right clothes for eternity, and He wants us to start wearing them today.
