Wednesday, September 24, 2014

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

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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