In 1 Corinthians 13:1–13, Paul interrupted his discussion of spiritual gifts with a poetic extolling of love. He did so for a good reason: to remind the Corinthians of that which must motivate their use of the spiritual gifts. Now he directly commands them: Pursue love. The verb pursue indicates determined and earnest activity, as when one is on a hunt for food or chasing after an enemy.

After giving this command, Paul picks up the command that he has given before the digression of 1 Corinthians 13:1–13: But earnestly desire the higher gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31). It now becomes clear that prophecy is among the higher gifts that should be desired. For more on Paul’s use of the word desire in this context, see the comments under 1 Corinthians 12:31.