“…and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
To have faith to move mountains is a wonderful thing, but it is not the chief thing. Paul tells us one can move mountains and yet be void of the main ingredient in the Christian life, “Love.” A Christian is “nothing,” without love. So says Paul.
There used to be an old song entitled, “Love and Marriage.” One line in it says, “They go together like a horse and carriage.” Well, that is to be true of faith and love. Paul always couples these together. For example: “The fruit of the Spirit is, love… faith.” Again, “Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith.” And again, “…putting on the breastplate of faith and love.” And yet again, “Hearing of thy love and faith.”
It seems Christianity has always been “wowed” by the externals. But greater than a “great faith” that can move mountains, is a great internal love life. Before Jesus performed that great miracle of faith in raising Lazarus from the dead, we read, “Behold, how he loved him.”
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.
“If faith never fails then all failure can be traced back to our lack of it!!~rds
by an Old Disciple