The Greatest Of These Is Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 – And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)

If we live life to the fullest — no matter what our health problems may be — if we live life to the fullest, we will be loved and remembered all our days. No matter what we can offer each other, no matter what we can do for each other, we must never forget to give love. To give love to the fullest is to receive love in return.

Wednesday three weeks ago is a day that none in our church family will forget. The phone rang and we heard the news of the untimely passing of a young, vibrant worker for the Lord. We couldn't believe it. Phone calls left unreturned: "Oh, we'll get around to it tomorrow." Work left unfinished: "Oh, it'll get done tomorrow." But there was no tomorrow. No returned phone calls, no finished work. There was no tomorrow for his friends, and family.

He had had a heart attack and died suddenly. Having given his life and his love to everyone with whom he came into contact, now he was gone. One is reminded that our Lord said, "Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13), and so he did. He gave his life to his friends.

Now Kevin is gone. Gone: never to return those phone calls, never to return the smiles, and there had been plenty of those. Kevin showed love all his life. At his funeral, held by necessity in the largest church in the area, a thunderous applause broke out: "A job well done, Kevin! Thanks for your love."

No matter what we're doing, no matter how busy we are, no matter how we feel, we must never, never forget to show love. We must not wait until it's too late. Let us tell someone that we love them; we dare not wait for life to pass us by. Let us get on with it; let us enjoy life to the fullest. Kevin surely did.

Prayer: Dear Lord, let us never forget that we must use your gifts in this world, that we must show our love for those around us, just as you did, Lord. Help us not to squander our days, but to be productive. Let us get that word "procrastination" out of our lives, and let us live life to the fullest. Amen.

[Editor's note: The Rev'd Mr. Kevin Liscombe, minister at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Roslin, Ontario, Canada, died suddenly on October 25th. The author of today's devotional is an elder in a neighbouring congregation in the Presbytery of Kingston.]