1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. 3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be cancelled.

11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

The Bible: by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002

Further Reading

•   What’s Love Got to do with It? by Norm Miller

•  Our Love Has Stood The Test Of Time

•  Salvation Explained

The post The Way of Love appeared first on Thoughts About God.

‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it 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’
1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Thought

Love does not focus on myself, but on others. Each of these qualities of love is based upon an affectionate, compassionate, and forgiving attitude that regards others as being valuable and not just placing value on myself and my desires. No wonder the old saying goes “The middle of sIn is a big “I!” When “I” become more important than others and what “I” want and that “I” win is more significant than what someone else truly needs, then “I” have lost my way and do not display the love of Christ.

Prayer

Holy God and Sacrificial Father, teach me to notice others and value them just as you do. I know you loved me when I was not lovable, and redeemed me when I was not worthy. Help me to take my eyes off myself and see others as you see them. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used with permission.
You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

FURTHER READING

•  Extending Grace to Others
•  Be Patient

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughtsaboutgod.com/four-laws/

The post Love appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

One day in the summer of 2003, I stood on a street corner in New York City debating with a young man about why I thought the Bible was real. I was in Manhattan with a group from my church. We were there to promote a new church in the city by passing out subway maps and other literature.

This man who stopped to talk to me proclaimed himself a student of religion. He had studied many holy books and wanted to know my thoughts on the difficulties he saw with the Bible being authentic.

At the end of our conversation, I felt proud that I had intelligently countered his arguments. But looking back now, I am bothered by the realization that my knowledge probably did little to bring him closer to a relationship with Jesus Christ. We parted, both of us still entrenched in our own understandings.

Having background knowledge of our faith is important, but if we don’t love people the way Jesus did, then, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians, we are just noise.

What if I had asked about his family? What if I had asked to pray for him? What if I had encouraged him to open his heart to a love that is bigger than his understanding?

Second-guessing myself is never helpful. However, in the future I want to focus my attention less on winning a debate and more on showing God’s love to those who need to see it.

Lord, break any fear that You see in me. Holy Spirit, teach me how to love the people around me the way You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

By Debbie West
Used by Permission

Further Reading

•  I Corinthians 13 ~ What is Love?

•  Love for a Lifetime by Karen Woodard

•  Salvation Explained

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The post Talk is Cheap Love Is Priceless appeared first on Thoughts About God.