All things be done with love

“All Your Things”

In the practical everyday life of a gathering together of saints three things especially call for careful and constant attention. They are spoken of in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 40; 16:14.

Taking the last of these first as being the most important of all, perhaps, let us speak a little upon,

“LET ALL YOUR THINGS BE DONE WITH LOVE.”

Whatever is performed at any time by any of the saints, whether in word or deed (and much may be done by a word), all—yes, ALL—is to be done with love. This is to be the ruling power in every action. ALL our things are to be done with love.

Divine love has been emphasized in the thirteenth chapter. This is the Christian’s measure. How much I love is my true stature. Not my ability, not my gift, not my almsgiving, not my power of speech; not my working of miracles, or speaking with tongues—I may have any or all of these, and added together they may total to “Nothing” if I have not love.

How little this is recognized! Put the powers spoken of in verses 1-3 of the chapter into form as an addition sum and observe how it appears.

1.—Tongues of men and of angels.

2.—Prophetic gift.

3.—Understanding of mysteries.

4.—Fullness of knowledge.

5.—Faith to remove mountains.

6.—Abundant generosity.

7.—Martyr-faithfulness.

Grand Total—NOTHING

The more showy gifts and teaching powers and gifts of money, and so forth, are looked upon by many as all-important. But they are NOTHING unless love is the ruling principle in them all. The desire for praise and prominence may be the motive instead of divine love, and He who reads the heart and who will judge the secrets of men in that day counts all such “NOTHING.”

Happy is the saint or servant when love—divine love—fills his heart, when Christ is manifested in his dealings with his fellow-believers. And it has been remarked that in the path of our Lord, as portrayed in the pages of the Gospels, we may see that coming out which is called for in us. Thus in verses 4 to 8 we may substitute “Christ” for charity, or love, and read, Christ “suffereth long, is kind, envieth not, vaunts not, is not puffed up,” and so forth.

The Holy Spirit is given to us that something of Christ may come out in our lives. And in Galatians 5:22 we find that the first item in “the fruit of the Spirit, is love.” We are “taught of God to love one another.”

The twelfth chapter of this epistle gives the mechanism of the engine. The fourteenth chapter gives the engine in its true running order. The thirteenth chapter comes between, and is as the lubricating oil that is necessary for the sweet, smooth running of the engine. Without the oil the bearings will become hot, and engine trouble ensue. We need to “walk in the Spirit” in our companying one with another and to take good heed that all our things are done with love. Let us think in love for every saint of God, for love is “to all saints,” and let us speak and act in love one with the other in all our things, whatsoever they may be.

I.F.