1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I should speak by the tongues of angels and of men, and I
should not have love, I have become a resounding gong that rings or a cymbal
that clangs. And if I should have
prophecy and I should have known all the mysteries and all the knowledge and I
should have all the faith so that mountains are moved, and I should not have
love, I am nothing. And if I should dole
out all of the things that I possess and I should hand over my body in order
that I should boast, and I should not have love, I accomplish nothing.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought
There is a repeated phrase in each of these verses: “and I
should not have love.” Don’t miss the
focus. Paul is absolutely saying that
anything done without love gets us nowhere.
But don’t put more into what Paul is saying that what he is actually saying. Paul doesn’t ever tell us the object of the
love. We cannot say for certain that I
must love those to whom I speak or those for whom I act – although admittedly
loving them does absolutely no harm and is an added benefit! What we can say for certain is that we should
love God the Father. Any of the things
listed in these verses that are done with no love for the Father do truly get
us nowhere. Our love for the people
around us is a great perk, but it is our love for God and His love for us that
is truly central to this passage.
Do you love God? What
are you willing to do for God? What are
you called to do for God?
Second Thought:
In the first and the third expression of these verses Paul
talks about preaching and doing. Paul is
talking about our interaction with the people around us. Paul reminds us that teaching or preaching is
important. We should be speaking to the
people around us through our love for God!
For that matter, we should be willing to sacrifice for the people around
us. But what is important is not just
our amount of sacrifice but the expression of God’s love that happens through
our sacrifice. As we can see, we are
called into the world. But we are called
in expression of His love and our love for Him.
How do you go into the world? Do you preach about your faith to
others? Do you make sacrifices? What is your motivation for these actions?
Third Thought:
The middle expression that Paul uses speaks to our
knowledge, our ability to speak truth, and even our faith! All of these things are great, but if we do
any of them in a lack of love we have missed the mark. Faith that can move mountains is great – but if
our faith is not rooted in love for God what good is it? If we can speak truth but our words are not
rooted in our love for God, what good is it?
If we can expound on any topic but cannot speak informatively in any
sort of love of the Father, what good are our words?
Have you considered how your love of the Father influences
your knowledge, faith, and ability to know truth? Do we ever think that we need to have these
things to know love for God rather than thinking that these things come out of
our love for God?
Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
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