Love
The Apostle Paul
from 1 Corinthians 13
And now I will show
you the most excellent way.
If I speak in the
tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender
my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never
fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we
prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect
disappears. . . .
And now these three
remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of
these is love. |
