'Your kick is actually really good, you’re just using the wrong part of your foot.’ I heard my youngest child advising his older sister as they were getting ready for bed. The family self-appointed football expert, had taken it upon himself to give her some advice ahead of her first competitive match against another school the following day. It was endearing to hear this, and to witness her attentively listen, welcoming his expertise: an unexpected role reversal. 

The advice he was giving seemed like it might be relevant in a broader sense. He wasn’t wrong in his assessment - she does have a good kick (I don’t wish to ponder on how a younger brother may have come to know this!) But in football, all the power is useless if not properly directed. Could this be the same in our Christian walk? It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 ‘If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.’ 

We could have a wealth of Christian knowledge (and impressive bookshelves packed with theology), we could pray long wordy prayers, we could dedicate all our time and money to charities, be a regular at church and give to the collection every week … but Paul is saying in this letter that all of that is pointless if we don’t have love. Like my daughter’s mighty kick, if it isn’t directed at the football, with the right part of her boot, lined up to the goal, then it isn’t worth it: all the power in the world won’t score if the set-up is wrong. If we don’t have love, everything else is a waste of time. We might wonder if these charitable acts are worthy in their own right, isn’t it still good to do those things even if we aren’t doing it from a place of love? According to Paul the answer is no. The football comparison helps us see why without love we are just a noisy gong: love is the whole point. The first reason, the sustainer, the motivator. If we lose love, we have lost our purpose. 

To understand this is hard, and to learn it from our ‘younger brothers’ is even harder. But that’s a reflection for another week! 

May God open our hearts to reveal our motives in all that we do, and fill us with the love of Christ. So that our efforts are not in vain, but an outpouring of the love we have received.

Wishing you all a wonder-filled week, 

Rev Anna Davis