My Faith Journey
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
“But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love”
Without Love, I am Nothing
If I do everything for my own glory, showcasing my gifts to exalt myself—whether it be speaking in tongues of men and angels, delivering prophecies that reveal mysteries and knowledge, possessing tremendous faith that can move mountains, or even giving all my possessions to charity—yet if these actions are not rooted in love for others, they amount to nothing in the Kingdom of God (v. 1-3).
Love is defined as Characters in Us (v.4-7)
Love is defined as follows:
Love is patient and kind. It teaches us to bear with one another and to accept people, even in their weaknesses.
Love is not jealous, does not brag, and it is not arrogant. When those around us succeed, love calls us to celebrate and rejoice with them. Jealousy is manifests in bragging and arrogance, competing against others’ success. (v.4)
Love guide our behavior to ensure it act appropriately. It does not seek its own benefits, in meekness, love chooses not to be provoked but to forgive, keeping no record of wrongs we may suffer (v.5).
Love does not delight in falsehood. It embraces truth and lead others toward what is right. Our ability to endure comes from rejoicing in the Truth, fostering confidence, faith and hope in all things (v.6)
Application
Spiritual gifts are given to us as an anointing to serve others. They are not meant for self-edification, nor should they be used for comparing superiority. We receive them in humility and express them through love. Genuine love never fails, and people are drawn to us by our love for them. While we may not fully understand it now, we will one day realize that we too have been deeply loved by God. Let us love God and others, for love is a character we can demonstrate outwardly to those around us.
Prayer
Teach me to love, just as you have love me. Let your love me the foundation for me in every work that I do. I commit my gifts and talents to you, Holy Spirit, anoint them and teach me to use it for your glory.
1 Corinthians 13:1 - 13
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.