1st Corinthians 13:2: If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

We all have amazing talents and gifts, things that we are better at than others. We can find that something may start out like a passion that fuels us into action based on those talents. What this scripture is referring to is that we are all children of God and we all have unique talents, yet when we leave out love, it will open the door for a host of un-welcomed guests like pride, envy, fear, and striving. You see the Holy Spirit is the One who provides our abilities and gifts. If we use them to look good, or for any other purpose than love, we may find them useless. 

We don't have to strive to look good in front of others, regardless of how others appear to us. The Lord loves us all the same, and so we can rest in the fact that we don’t have to strive for a pecking order in the Kingdom of God. 

Instead, we open ourselves up to be a vessel of His love, for His purpose, and for the good of others. I invite you to look at the call on your life with fresh eyes and with love as the center focus. If the Lord brought you a spouse, look at her as a perfect gift of love. If God has given you a child, a career, financial breakthrough, see the love of those things. When we receive love from the Father, and through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in one, we know that through those perfect gifts we have an abundance of love. It is more than we could ever fathom. When we receive that revelation deep in our hearts, then pouring out that love on others comes naturally. It is only when we feel a lack in any area, that we look to strive or fear instead of love. 

God first loved us, and so we must guard that knowledge and renew our minds daily of that fact. If you don't see love in your relationships, or career, finances, or health, remember that you are loved by the maker of the universe first and foremost, and that love is limitless. There is no end to His love, and it is only when we see that any other way that we become in lack. 

Let me explain it this way. I have heard Christians say something like, " I don't   understand why that happened, I love God, I go to church, I do this, I do that." The scripture says that I may have faith that can move mountains, but if I do not have love, I am nothing. The basis of all things abundant starts with the truth that we are indeed loved, and it is out of His love that we have all things. That perfect sacrifice of Jesus is the proof, and we can often start to think that we did something wrong despite our devotion. I invite you to stop where you are, and say, “Father, I thank you for, and receive your perfect love today.” Feel the love deep within you. Know without a doubt that His love is enough to satisfy the most broken, most shame-filled, most fearful of us all. There is nothing that we can do to earn that love, it just is. When we stop thinking that we must do anything other than receive His love, it will pour over into other areas of our lives, and to include our relationships. The love we receive is enough just in the amount that spills over from us to others, to change lives. If we feel unwanted, unloved, it would be difficult if not impossible to love others. What it turns into is striving for acceptance, and we can become a slave to the idea that we must do whatever it takes to receive love from another person. That is not love, it is fear, and striving. Receive in our hearts, our minds, the perfect love of Jesus, and all things will flow from Him. In Jesus' name.