There's that word again, one that I'm sure everyone has heard of, has longed for, and has definitely experienced through God -LOVE-. I'm sure that I am not the only one with romantic notions when it comes to love and such things but what the Bible has to say about what love really looks like is very humbling! First of all the sincerity part, wow...it may seem obvious but I am sure that Satan uses our longing for love as a temptation to idolize it. Then there is the whole idea of having that 'significant other' who makes you feel special, pays attention to your needs, etc. all wonderful things but unless they are being done out of sincere love, which means 'honoring one another above yourselves', they mean nothing.
The verses that follow show that love is not separate from faith, "NEVER be lacking in zeal but keep you spiritual fervor, serving the Lord...". I remember a verse I learned in elementary school from Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." This verse echoes what was going through my mind as I read the initial passage about love from Romans 12... The infamous 'love passage' in the Bible begins by saying that no matter what you have or what you do if you do not have love it means nothing.
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have 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 do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." and later in the same chapter... "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
*the last passage that was quoted is from 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, and verse 13*
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