“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Love is the eighth, final and ultimate grace of the Christian life.
"But above all these things"
God’s first priority for us is to put on love. Besides the other virtues, put on love which is the last and best virtue. “Love” is the garment that is to be “above all.” This means over all. This is the most important characteristic quality for the Christian. Let this be the mark of distinction for the believer. This is the final garment the believer is to put on. It binds all other garments together.
"put on love"
The translators supply “put on” from the previous verse. The emphasis is placed on the word “love.” Literally it reads, “And above all these things, love.” Love is the priority of all the graces in this list. Love ties all other virtues together and is therefore the most important grace (I Cor 13:13).
Principle:
Love is the outstanding mark of the Christian (John 13:34,35).
Application:
If we do not love one another no one will know that we belong to Jesus. An outstanding shortcoming of the saints is lack of love. Do you have lack of love for fellow Christians? Why are you so critical of others?
God does not ask us to agree with every other Christian but he does as us to love them. We must learn to lovingly disagree. We can disagree without becoming disagreeable. If we disagree without love then we project ourselves out of the will of God. The price is too high. God will not use us.
Is love the priority grace of your life?
