If I don't have love, I am nothing

1 Corinthians 13

This is such a famous, oft-quoted chapter that it's easy for me to glaze over its import. But no. I'm going to be volunteering at a teen camp next week, and unlike last year when I faced the total unknown, this year I enter the ring with faces, faces packaged with their own sets of beliefs, habits, attitudes, and (worst of all in my mind) coolness. Lovable faces. And unlovable faces. Am I going to look down, be aloof, act shy and distant? Or let go of my inhibitions and freely love, converse with, and embrace people with whom I have almost nothing in common? Am I going to minister with my superior Bible knowledge I got from Bible school? Or am I going to fully trust the Holy Spirit to guide while simply showing Christ's love? As 1 Corinthians 13 points out, I could have or do amazing things, but if I don't have love, "I am nothing."

Zero.

Zilch.

Nada.

And I know now this is true, especially for a counselor or camp worker.

And I shudder.

I shudder, because naturally speaking, I don't have what it takes. I'm horrified at how hard it is for my cold self to love certain kinds of people. And yet--and yet, we are never dealing in "naturally speaking" terms when Christ is in the picture. If Christ is in me, that means His love is in me too, and I'm praying and believing that His love will flood through me to people I come in contact with. It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter if I'm an oddball. What matters is Christ. What matters is my choice to love Him. What matters is our choice to love others.

I need Thee every hour, and I need Your love. But since You are Love, I'll be satisfied with just having You.