The Greatest of These

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels
But have not love
I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal

And if I have the gift of prophesy
And can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge
And if I have a faith that can move the 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, 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
But when I became a man, I put my childish ways behind me

Now we see but a poor reflection as a mirror
But 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
The greatest of these is love