Love is Enough

Paul closes his great chapter on love with a quiet but stunning claim. Many things will pass away. Gifts will cease. Partial knowledge will give way to fullness. But three things remain: faith, hope, and love. And above them all stands love.

Faith is precious. It is the means by which we trust God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). Through faith we cling to Christ. Hope is precious. It looks forward to what we cannot yet see (Rom. 8:24–25). It steadies us when the present feels heavy. Faith anchors us to God’s promises; hope pulls us toward their fulfillment.

But love is greater.

Faith will one day become sight. Hope will one day be fulfilled. We will no longer believe in what we cannot see, nor hope for what has already come. But love will not diminish. It will only deepen. Love is not merely a mechanism of salvation; it is the very life of the age to come. As John writes, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). To love is to reflect the very character of the One who saved us.

There is an old account of the apostle John in his final years. Too weak to walk, he was carried into the assembly. Each time he spoke, he said the same words: “Little children, love one another.” When asked why he always repeated this, he answered in effect, If this is done, it is enough.

Paul would agree.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by display, power, or knowledge. It is measured by love: love for God and love for one another (Matt. 22:37–40; John 13:34–35). If this is present, everything else finds its place.

If this is done, it is enough.