The Difference Between Gifts and Growth
Love the better than all the gifts
Spiritual gifts can show up quickly, but love takes time to grow as we stay close to God.
A gift might impress people, but love changes lives.
A gift can help build a ministry, but love helps build people.
Gifts are temporary; love is eternal. Paul said,
“Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail… whether there be tongues, they shall cease… whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
1 Corinthians 13:8.
Every spiritual gift is for a time, but love never ends because God is love. When miracles are over and sermons are forgotten, love will still be there.
Love That Forgives
You can’t talk about love without also talking about forgiveness.
Love doesn’t ignore the hurt; it lets it go. Love doesn’t keep track of wrongs or hold onto resentment, and it doesn’t wait for others to change first. Love chooses mercy over holding on to the past.
Jesus said,
“Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37.
Forgiveness is not saying what someone did was right. It is saying you will not let their wrong define your heart anymore.
Holding onto unforgiveness blocks the Spirit’s work. Love can’t grow in a heart that keeps score. You might have every spiritual gift, but if your heart is bitter, those gifts lose their beauty.
Real love forgives even before it feels easy. It prays for people who have hurt you, blesses those who have spoken against you, and trusts God to handle justice.
That is not weakness. It is strength. It is the same love that hung on a cross and prayed,
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.
We don’t learn that kind of love on our own; we receive it from God. It’s His life living in us.
The Fruit of the Spirit
Paul wrote,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22–23.
Gifts can show up quickly, but fruit takes time to grow. Gifts show what God can do through you, while fruit shows what He has done inside you.
The first sign that the Holy Spirit leads your heart isn’t power, but love. It’s not a love that wants attention, but one that quietly serves, forgives, and keeps going.
When love fills your heart, joy comes next. Peace settles in. Patience feels natural. Gentleness takes the place of harshness. All the other fruits grow out of love.
Love grows in us when we remember that God already loves us. The more you know you are loved, the more freely you can love others. When you understand His mercy for you, it’s easier to show mercy to others.
The Test of Love
The real test of love is how you treat people who have hurt you.
Do you quietly hope they fail, or do you pray for good things for them? Do you keep replaying what they did, or do you let them go and trust God?
Love is most real when it could walk away but chooses to stay kind. It shows up not in easy times, but in hard ones, not in comfort, but in how we endure.
When you can forgive someone who hurt you, bless someone who betrayed you, and still hope good things for them, that’s when God’s kind of love is alive in you.
The Love That Never Ends
Paul ended his great chapter on love with these words:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Faith looks up. Hope looks ahead. Love looks out to others.
One day, faith will become sight, and hope will be fulfilled. But love will last forever, because love is God’s very nature.
When we live in love, we move in step with heaven. Every kind act, every gracious word, every choice to forgive shows the God who lives in us.
That’s why love is better than any gift. Gifts show God’s power, but love shows His presence.
The Way of Christ
Jesus said,
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35.
The world changes not because of our abilities, but because of our love. People may forget sermons or songs, but they remember how they felt with us if they sensed grace, patience, and kindness.
Love isn’t just a feeling. It’s strength that won’t strike back. It’s humility that serves others. It’s mercy that welcomes people home.
And love isn’t something we put on. It’s letting Jesus live through us.
That’s the better way, not working harder, but surrendering deeper. It’s not about trying to be like Jesus, but letting Him live in us.