Some people like the fact we have so much choice and so many options available to us nowadays, while others find this daunting and confusing. Each day we are faced with different choices, and we have to be clear about how we choose to do what we choose to do. Mark spoke this morning from 1 Cor 13:1-14:1, talking about how faith, hope and love can be the guiding lights in our choices.
If we consider buying a new car, we could base our decision on practical reasons (reliability, make, functionality etc.), which is a decision based on reasonable faith. We could, however, base our choice on hope – that our ‘dream car’, for example, would live up to our expectations and hopes. The third motivation, love, however, tends to be the one that sways us most: we buy a car because it is ‘just right’, and ultimately because we love it.
Love has to be our guiding light in all choices. Love is practical, reaching out to those in need, showing kindness to all. God Himself is love and love was His motivation for action (see John 3:16, Rom 5:8). His lavish love is unconditional and we are urged to ‘pursue love’ (1 Cor 14:1) more than anything else. So often, we value other things (spiritual gifts, faith, knowledge, giving to the poor and so on) more than love, but if love comes first, the other things will follow. We need to strive to love, acknowledging our shortcomings, but realising also that this is our life’s work. Faith will one day give way to sight; hope will one day be fulfilled, but love is eternal and therefore must be the main factor in all our choices.
