We’ve known since 1896 that love makes the world go ’round. That’s when Clyde Fitch wrote the words to the first documented song by this name.
Then Ollie Jones presented his version in 1958, Paul Anka in 1963, Deon Jackson in 1966, and after that Madonna, Tina Harris, Ashlee Simpson, and even the Power Puff Girls in there somewhere.
Love really does make the world go ’round. Everyone says so. Even the Word of God.
Read the beginning of the story in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful…”
There’s more, but this gives us a good grasp of the concept. It doesn’t matter how much we give in the offering, the number of sick we visit in the hospital, or even the awards we win for consistent attendance in Sunday school, those are not the things that matter to God. We can toss out our cigarettes, dump the booze down the drain, and sell all we have, giving our gain to the poor, and we haven’t met God’s standard.
We must have love, or for the people we come into contact with, the world grinds to a halt, and it no longer goes ’round. We must be patient and kind, let others have the attention, and never consider ourselves better than they are. We must be cooperative, willing to get along, and able to let irritations slough away like water off a duck’s back.
In other words, we must emulate Jesus in all he said and did. Our Christian walk is all about the love. It’s about making the world go ’round for the people around us. When we reach the place where they are more important than we are, then we know we’ve stepped into the realm of Christ’s love, and God truly begins to approve of all we say and do.
Love is found in our actions, not just in the words we hope others believe.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Originally Published 11-18-16 in Relationships