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Stephen recently wrote this article for the Sacred Charge website giving a vision for prevailing faith, and it absolutely provoked my heart… so I wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy and I pray it will exhort your hearts to believe as much as it did my own. — Karli
The body of Christ in every generation must stand at a similar crossroads. As we read of the power of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament and feel the painful disparity between what we find on those pages and what we have known in our experience, what will we do? This question confronts us both individually and corporately, and though we may evade its pursuit for a season, at some point we must turn and reckon with its probing force. While much could be written of the marvelous works Jesus performed in and through the apostolic church, only a cursory journey through the middle portion of the book of Acts is necessary to shine the light on the barrenness of Western Christianity in the 21st century.
In a mere five verses in the fifth chapter, we are informed that signs and wonders were so prevalent that those who were in need from the cities surrounding Jerusalem were brought to the feet of the apostles and the sick were even laid out in the streets in the hope that Peter’s shadow might fall upon them. The result was that multitudes of men and women were added to the Lord (v 14) and all who came found healing and deliverance in His precious name (v 16). In verse 19 of Acts 5, the apostles are miraculously freed from imprisonment by an angel. Acts 6:8 describes how Stephen, who was simply responsible for distributing food and not actually one of the apostles, “did great wonders and signs among the people.” After baptizing the Ethiopian convert, Philip was caught up by the Spirit and transported to a different city (8:39-40). In the next chapter a man who was paralyzed is healed through the ministry of Peter, followed by the remarkable account of the raising of a woman named Tabitha from the dead in the city of Joppa (9:36-43). The night before he was to be executed, an angel came to Peter in prison and escorted him out of bondage into safety (12:5-19). In a similar vein, Paul and Silas found themselves beaten and in shackles for the cause of Christ when suddenly a great earthquake shook the prison and released them from their chains (14:25-34). As the story continues to unfold we are told that “God worked unusual miracles by the hand of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them (19:11-12).”
Furthermore, Divine communication is riddled throughout the tale of the first generation of followers of Christ. Jesus appeared to Stephen at his death, to Paul at his conversion, and to Ananias with instructions to restore Paul’s sight (7:56; 9:5; 9:10 respectively). Cornelius the centurion was visited by an angel in an open vision, after which Peter was caught up in a trance while in prayer (10:3, 10). Agabus prophesied of a famine that would come upon the land, the apostolic mission to the gentiles was directed to go to Macedonia through a vision in the night, and the Lord Jesus appeared again to Paul in order to encourage his heart (11:28; 16:9; 18:9). The testimonies go on and on, and this is not even highlighting the astonishing power of the Holy Spirit present in the preaching of the early Church.
By contrast the sick in our midst almost always stay sick, regardless of whether one is ‘evangelical’ or ‘charismatic’. In other words, possessing a rhetoric which includes the power of the Spirit is not at all synonymous with the reality of it. Though profoundly grateful for what the Lord has done, at IHOP-KC alone over the last few years we have had the privilege of standing in prayer with four dear souls in their struggle against terminal cancer… each one of them glorified Jesus by loving Him well as they lost that battle and died. Not surprisingly we don’t find diseased and tormented unbelievers flocking to our churches as they did to the apostles and their followers. We don’t even have the opportunity to be miraculously delivered from prison because our witness is not powerful enough to evoke the resistance from the world to put us in fetters. While the diluted, culturally assimilated proclamation going forth from so many pulpits in the land may be effective at making ‘seekers’ feel comfortable, we know nothing of words so laden with heavenly power that thousands are cut to the soul and conquered by the glory of Christ (Acts 2:37). And though there seems to be more people than ever with the word ‘prophet’ in front of their name, few and far between are those men and women who truly stand in the counsel of the Lord and declare His word in truth.
This is not the context to develop either the biblical theology of healing or that of suffering (both of which we have the propensity to monumentally err on), or to try to unearth the causes of the absence of the Spirit in our utterance. Still from this juxtaposition at least one thing should be clear – we are missing something. And thus we arrive once more at the question posed at the outset: what will we do? Sadly the most common response throughout history has been the path of least resistance, accepting the way things are and explaining away the dissonance between the Bible and what we have known by putting the New Testament in a different category theologically. In effect this puts the book of Acts high on a shelf to be admired and applauded but never emulated or sought after. Yet as our generation stands at the crossroads there is another option. It is the difficult way, and surely the road less traveled, but the one we must embrace. In opting for this lonely path we are allowing our hearts to be torn over the vision for the fullness of the Spirit and daring to believe in what we have never seen. Instead of finding a shallow peace with the way things are, we elect instead to throw ourselves into the crushing tension of intercession where we contend in faith for the way God desires them to be. This posture is that which embodies and undergirds the fourth value of the IHOP heart-standards – Prophetic, or prevailing faith, as Mike Bickle has often said over the years. To prevail in our stand for the power of God does not mean that we are free from doubt, or that we do not grow weary, but simply that the slow passage of time without the answer we seek does not extinguish our tears and prayers for God to break through. In the end, our conviction in the mercy of Jesus and His passion to pour out His Spirit triumphs over the weakness of our own hearts and years of waiting.
For me the revelation of the Lord’s desire to release His power today and not just on the pages of history came like an avalanche as I discovered the writings of Smith Wigglesworth and John G. Lake during my college years. At the time I did not realize how deeply my heart was being marked by the vision for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, nor was I aware of how much my motivation for His power needed to be purified and how much the desire to see signs and wonders would be tested. Even in the ten short years that have intervened, I have found it increasingly difficult to avoid becoming calloused and to keep my heart soft and broken over our barrenness. Zeal is cheap, but endurance is costly. Yet through the pain of perseverance, I have gained clearer perspective on how we must contend for power from on high. Revival does not exist to cure the chronic boredom we wrestle with nor to enlarge our churches so we can finally feel a sense of significance in the landscape of ministry. In the Divine heart the unleashing of His miraculous might upon a city or nation is unto the glory of Christ and compassion for hurting people. Unless our hearts are aligned with these two purposes, we will likely not prevail in our faith and if revival does come we will almost certainly be crushed by the pressure that accompanies authentic power. God insisted upon this final heart standard in the DNA of this movement because He is so zealous for the exaltation of His Son and so filled with tenderness and mercy for the sick and the oppressed as they suffer. These currents in His heart are just as strong now as they were when the apostles turned the world upside down in the first-century. Let this be our confidence, and may His renown be our all-consuming aim as we stand at the crossroads. What will we do? We will take our stand and believe God for an unprecedented breakthrough of power and the full manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our generation.
May our faith prevail…
I got an early birthday present from Stephen today and I LOVE IT — the New Testament Audio Bible. It’s the New Testament acted out (but verbatim) with music and even sound effects 
It’s so edifying though… to sit and listen to the Word over and over. My friend Amybeth (the most beautiful and fragrant friend a person could have) mentioned it the other night and I could not wait to get my hands on it. It’s perfect for me because often holding a book and reading it is too painful to pull off. Most of the time I have to read the Word online, with my laptop next to me in bed, at least that’s the case on the bad days (which is pretty much most days this last month). I can’t wait for the Old Testament version of this! They have just released the “Gift of Psalms” – which I also want to get – but the entire OT won’t be out for another year unfortunately.
Anyway, I thought I’d pass this along to you guys… for driving around or washing dishes or your morning run. It’s great!
I’m listening to Matthew as I write… I love the Gospels.
I am reading a book by Dallas Willard called The Spirit of the Disciplines. I’m only in the third chapter, but I have really liked it so far. So in an effort to make up for my last post about nothing that important, I will share a few gems from the book related to that which is INFINITELY more important, namely knowing God and being conformed to His image.
“So we do not have the strength we should have, and Jesus’ commandments become overwhelmingly burdensome to us. In fact, many Christians cannot even believe He actually intended for us to carry them out. So what is the result?
His teachings are treated as a mere ideal, one that we may better ourselves by aiming for but know we are bound to fall glaringly short of. It’s a familiar story. “We’re only human,” we say, and “to err is human.” Such pronouncements may be for another age or “dispensation,” we may think – or possibly they’re for when we are in heaven. But they cannot be for us now. Not really. Jesus could not have imposed anything that hard upon us.
And besides, we’re in a period of grace – we are saved by grace, not by anything we do – so obedience to Christ is actually not necessary. And it is so hard, anyway; it cannot be expected of us, much less enjoyed by us.
And so we reason. All of our reasonings, however, remove the thought that Jesus calls us to follow Him – to follow Him now, not after death.” (pg 2-3 SotD, Willard)
GK Chesterton said something similar: “Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.”
Wow, huh? Honestly, I think part of the reason I am posting this is so that I do not have to sit here alone in the conviction of it all… ouch.
I love this quote by Willard too (followed by the powerful T.S. Eliot poem):
“The Spirit of the Disciplines is nothing but the love of Jesus with its resolute will to be like Him whom we love. In the fellowship of the burning heart, “exercise unto godliness” is our way of receiving ever more fully the grace in which we stand, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:2).” (xii, SotD, Willard)
The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre of pyre-
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.
(TS Eliot, Little Gidding IV)
May we be consumed only by the Flame Himself, Love that cannot be quenched and will not be ignored.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies…
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (II Corinthians 4:6-10, 16-18 ESV)
Yes, this is an old favorite… I think I have written about this verse before. But I am brought back to its resounding truth and my soul is anchored by the weight of it today. It is the chorus of my heart and the melody before my King.
Surpassing power belongs to God and not to me… afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; struck down, but alive ever more… the light momentary afflictions we endure in this age are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory that is beyond anything we could hope for or imagine and so our eyes are fixed not on our circumstances or the things we face in time and space, but on things eternal, our destiny in Christ and hope of glory. We fix our gaze on the glory of God in the face of Christ. For He alone is worthy of our attention.
It’s so easy to measure ourselves by our outward circumstance, our abilities, and what we “do” day to day to make a difference in the world around us. I remember filling out disability forms several years ago and coming face to face with my own, very false estimations of worth in the world in a way that left me utterly decimated before the Lord. The forms basically outlined every single thing that I could NOT do… that was their purpose (and they were quite successful, I might add). And so I spent many days during that season recording and listing my UN-achievements and my DIS-abilities. It was awful… and by ‘awful,’ I mean utterly atrocious. I don’t think I could exaggerate that whole experience if I tried. I was completely unprepared for the impact and revelation it would have on my life and heart. There I sat face to face with my own weaknesses and inabilities to even do ‘normal’ life activities… I was exposed before my own eyes. The truth was out. I was not that great… not that strong… and I really had nothing to boast of at all. Unbeknowst to me, I had been defining myself all along by what I could “do” – what gifts I had to offer, what ministry tasks I could perform, my type A personality, and even my ability to seemingly ‘control’ the world around me by excelling at all sorts of things I thought mattered. When all that was stripped away, who was I really? That was the question that came before the Lord. And so begun a season where He is truly re-defining me and refining me in the reality of His love and His identity. It’s been a long season. You see, I’m extrordinarily full of pride… I think maybe more than most And so, I think this season may last a lifetime… but even if it takes all my days, I want HIS NAME written on my heart and not my own.
Thus says the LORD:”Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV)
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (II Corinthians 9b-10 ESV)
These have been the meditations of my heart this last week. I’m still ‘healing’ from the fall down the stairs, and I’ve been mostly confined to the four walls of my room these last days. I’m weary, but I’m strengthened by the knowledge of God. Today I was thinking of the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ and our call to run the race set before us with endurance as they peer at us intently through the lattice of time along with the Holy Three. I don’t know if they cheer us on, but in my heart, I was imagining the voices of the saints of old surrounding the body of Christ in the earth today singing, “You CAN press on… keep running… He is real, He is beautiful, and He is worth it. Don’t be afraid to let suffering have its way in your life that it may produce endurance, character and a Hope that will never disappoint you. Don’t give up… keep coming to the God whose love even the grave cannot contain. Keep running child, for God is with you.” And so I’m running into His embrace. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever and forever (Ps 73).
What defines a man? The question should be Who… Who defines a man? God has redefined the word “great” in my life these last few years. Those that I respect the most are not ‘great’ because they have a powerful ministry or so called ‘anointing’ on their lives. It’s not because of what they contribute to me or to the body of Christ or to the world at large. Their greatness hinges on a God who so loved the world that He gave… He served… He loved to the end and beyond time itself. And they have given themselves not to the outward appearance that is so often valued the most, but to a life in secret before the One who is Reality and Greatness and Life Himself. They have truly abandoned themselves to the knowledge of the God who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth, that they may boast only in Jesus Christ. It’s not lip service – it’s real. The truth of their lives is not just in the pulpit or in public, it is lived out before the throne. It is rare in the earth… it’s the narrow way. But it exists. Oh, this is my heart’s ambition. I am so not there yet, I can assure you (remember I said above I need a lot of work), but it is the truest desire of my heart (which in and of itself must be the Lord because I know the ugly state of my heart better than anyone else )
So may we all be encouraged to go our way to the secret place before His throne where all our longings are fulfilled and where Greatness is found… and may we endure, as James says, so that steadfastness may have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1) Jesus is real, He is beautiful, and He is worth it.
I decided to like blue right now (thus the change in blog color)… like the sapphire pavement, only this is less sapphire and more midday sky, but oh well, it works.
Lately, I’ve been pondering the mystery of our friendship with the Holy Spirit, rather His friendship to us. The words in red of John 14 have especially been whirling around in my mind… “I will not leave you as orphans… I will send a Helper to teach you and remind you of all that I AM.” Today those words have been my prayer… for me, for Stephen, for the body of Christ… even when we do not know, He is there and ever faithful to instruct us in the Way and change us from glory to glory. Our holy, sometimes hidden, Friend.
If I knew how, I would include Isa’s song, “Holy Spirit Come,” right here. I’ve been listening to it a lot today. (From “Raw Sessions” by Isa)
If you love me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true… you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you. I won’t leave you like orphans…the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. (Jesus in John 14)
(Journal entry March 2006):
I have nothing to boast of except Him who lives within me… Christ in me, the hope of glory. Weak and broken as I truly am, it has been graciously granted to me that I would hold within the most perfect and beautiful of Treasures. In me, a vessel of earth and dust, God is alive and moving. I have realized that all good things are born from the hidden places – a baby from the hiddennes of the womb, a flower bursting forth from the darkness of the dirty earth, a diamond hidden deep and dark in a lump of coal, a pearl under the sea in the cavern of the oyster’s depths… and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control from the hidden power of the Holy Spirit making the bride ready for the Bridegroom. Not only has He hidden me away, He has hidden Himself… but now I see. Springtime has brought the blooms of things unseen. And these flowers, this fruit wrought in hidden places, these are worth far more than the “experiences” of His presence that encourage me and keep me on the course (although I love those experiences). These hidden treasures are what make me ready for Him and what ultimately make me His! I am known by Love and it is the work of my Counselor molding and transforming me that I will be forever grateful for when I finally and fully see… glory will be revealed.
Oh sweet Friend and Helper, help me even now. Take those things that are His and make them known to me and in me. Teach me. Shape me. Bathe me in the beauty of the Lord. I am Yours. I humble myself before You even now and say I am desperate for Your leadership, for all that You are and all that You do… for the fullness of God. Oh Holy Spirit, I love Your ways. Thank You. All my fountains are in You.
What is it about the car that invokes worship? Or is it just me?
Somewhere around 4pm each day, Noah gets cabin fever, or at least that’s my explanation for the sudden change in my sweet son’s personality and the ginormous sweat beads that form upon my brow as I dance to musical toys, hang him upside down by his feet, and do all things bordering on insanity just to keep him entertained. (By the way, I actually never sweat on my face, but it made that sentence so much better so I threw it in there.) Anyway, so around that time, I typically decide… “hmmm, a drive would be nice.”
And it never fails… about the time I hit the White Avenue light just down from our house, I am singing as loud as I possibly can… and probably about 1/2 mile after that, I become that weird lady driving down the highway with my hands in the air and obviously singing or screaming or something that doesn’t look entirely normal. I don’t know what it is about the car… it’s always done this to me. It’s like my own personal third heaven or something. (Well, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the point.) I wonder how this will affect my poor little son who has to endure Mommy’s not so good singing at the top of her lungs. He’s probably just praying, “Lord, help Mommy to drive and remember to not close her eyes up there.” Actually, Noah just smiles at me from the back seat. I think he knows…
Anyway, today I was listening to Crowder’s Remedy. I love the line in O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing that says “There are so few words that never grow old… so few words that never grow old… Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” I just kept listening to that over and over. What a great line. Crowder is something else… every new album surprises me in a uniquely Crowder-esque way. Worshipful ear candy with lovingly brilliant lyrics and colorful melodic treats. Gotta love that guy. And thank him… because today, he brought me to the feet of the King in my third-heaven-mobile.
Oh, how I want to rant and rave tonight about how I feel about what I would call “the rich man’s gospel” that is so widely preached in the Church today and the trail of disillusioned souls in its wake. I could say so much… I want to say so much… but Mercy restrains me. John Piper says it well… I will leave it to him… or better yet, to the Word of God.
But I will say this, kind of along the same lines… just one thing, if I may… a question posed… what is it with the phrase “the sick and the poor.” “I want to serve the sick and the poor… we just need to focus on the sick and the poor” – or as I read somewhere the other day, “as for the sick and the poor, we just need to pray that they get better” - what is that? What does that mean? Every time I hear that or see it written, my stomach turns. I feel like we might as well have ”the sick” and “the poor” wear little bells around their necks and shout “I AM THE SICK” and ”I AM THE POOR” as they walk among us so we know who the sad little creatures are… and in our mightiness, we can reach out to save the poor little souls. Okay, that was strong. Sorry… I am just very stirred up right now. Maybe it is just the “THE” before sick and poor that bugs me so… or maybe it’s just the whole phrase. Truth is… I am just as guilty of throwing around various exclusionary descriptive phrases, so I am pointing the finger at myself as much as anyone. Like all of us, I am desperately in need of God’s heart and of His mercy, probably more so.
I remember many, many moons ago hearing a preacher from England say over and over again that God “was the kindest person he had ever known.” This was his personal and living experience of Jesus Christ… ‘the kindest person he had ever known.’ At every twist and turn of his journey, on every mountaintop and in every valley of his life, this is who Jesus revealed Himself to be. I remember thinking ‘what would I say?’
At 33, after years of walking with God or trying to walk with Him, I think I know the answer to that question. I like to say it this way, that the banner waving over my Beloved and over my life (far above all the rest) simply reads this: ”COMPASSION.” Just one little word, but a powerful word.
Compassion, in my opinion, is widely abused and misunderstood these days. In fact, I don’t believe that compassion can even exist in its truest and fullest form outside of the Lamb of God. Compassion is not merely an emotion or an exaggerated sentimentality; it is an inward and outward reality and it is an action. Furthermore, it has absolutely nothing to do with pity. Pity says from a high place seemingly far removed from suffering and weakness and pain, “Oh, I am so sorry that you are in that horrible place down there… in that other boat… too bad you can’t be on this boat with the better off.” Pity may even lend a hand to pull those from the ‘other boat’ into the boat with the better off, but in the end, pity will only leave the ’other boat’ alone and despised.
Compassion is an all together different reality. The word compassion actually means “to suffer with.” (i.e. the passion of Christ) ‘To suffer with’ is in no way synonymous with ‘to feel sorry for.’ While pity offers its deepest condolences to the ones in the other boat, compassion says, “There is no other boat!” Pity may stand at a distance and feel sorry for the broken and lost creatures wandering about below, but compassion will not watch from the sidelines. Compassion came as one of us… God-with-us. He is the Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, carrying our sorrows and bearing our weakness.
Jesus is Compassion Incarnate.
When Stephen and I were dating, I had a hard time believing that this amazing man of God was really in love with me. I told him one night (if I may be incredibly vulnerable in sharing this), “I just don’t get why anyone when they are looking at all the beautiful vases on the shelves… those vessels of grace and glory so perfect and whole… would then choose the one broken pot on the back shelf.” I was mostly speaking of my broken (sick) body and all that comes with it, but I felt it in a lot of other ways as well.
Stephen looked over at me with unyielding love and sobriety and said, “Karli, we are all broken pots…”
He was right. Jesus spoke through my soon-to-be husband that night, and it changed my life. It is still changing my life… because as wonderful as my husband is, he wasn’t the first to reveal this sort of compassion. Jesus… oh, beautiful Immanuel… He spoke this kind of Love first… He was this Love first.
Psalm 103 says it like this:
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him,
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
We are ALL broken pots… jars of clay… dust. But Love took that dust and wrapped Himself in it forever and forever. Love knelt before us, washed our dirty feet and asked us to do the same.
There has been much said in the Western Church about faith (or something like it) and how we can prosper and everything will turn out right. But if I may, I think I will lean on something greater…
“Teacher, which is the greatest…?”
Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
And oh what power would be unleashed if only… if only… the greater was truly incarnate again in us… just broken vessels, jars of clay, pouring out upon the earth not empty formulas, but LOVE that brings life to the dust. What mountains could not be moved? What darkness could remain?
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
