Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Today’s Reading: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13
I’ve been thinking about these passages for the past several days and they have left me awestruck. I had always read about the spiritual gifts in chapter 12 and then about love in chapter 13 but never had I paid attention to the last sentence of the 12th chapter.
And yet I will show you the most excellent way. – 1 Corinthians 12:31
And then something that I have known in my spirit to be true was just spoken clearly in the text.
Love is the most excellent way.
Love is the fuel behind all positive action. Love builds and heals. Love creates and nurtures. Love is the source of our best selves. It is what motivates us to act outside of our selfish desires. It is the mother of empathy, charity, and sacrifice.
But as I read it in the context of spiritual gifts I was fascinated. The gifts are quite powerful indeed, healing, prophecy, knowledge of the past and future. They are the kinds of things that superhero stories are made of. But the notion that the source of that miraculous power is love is something that really speaks to the potential that we have to transform our world.
If we learn to love then everything will change.
It all fits in so nicely with what Jesus was trying to say. He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves and even to love our enemies. And he provided, through his life, and example for us to strive toward.
He also did all kinds of fancy miracles. He healed the sick, turned water into wine, walked on water, knew people’s past and future. His life was filed with amazing things; so much so that it seems like it must be a fairytale. To the casual observer it must seem hard to believe.
But tell me this. What is harder to do? Is it harder to love your enemies or heal the sick? Is it harder to love your neighbor or walk on water?
They are equally difficult.
What I am starting to see now is that both sides, love and the miraculous, are two sides of the same coin. We would become powerful beyond measure if only we could learn to love. Our love is purest when we allow God to work in us; when we act with the freedom of complete obedience to our purpose.
This is inspiration.
“The Way” is becoming clearer to me now. If you want to achieve the impossible, pursue the dreams that you have in your heart for your life, then first you must pursue love. And through your ability to love others and yourself you will find the power to make all of your dreams come true.
And odds are that powerful love will mold and shape those dreams as well…
From the inside out you will become brand new.
Hello Man of God, Amen!!! Thank you for such beautiful words of "illumination". So often we forfeit the very things we desire because we choose not to flow with the Love that's inside. Everything begins and ends with the "choice" to Love.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
"We would become powerful beyond measure if only we could learn to love. Our love is purest when we allow God to work in us; when we act with the freedom of complete obedience to our purpose."
ReplyDeleteIts like instead of having confidence in the love of others, you accept and find comfort in the amount and depth of your own "love" of others. Sometimes, without any regard to how others understand these feelings from you.
So there truly is something to all the "mumbo-jumbo" about acceptance and love. When you accept that someone has your heart and allow yourself to sit in that love. It's far more easy to sit "quietly" and patiently in that love.
Or if need be, let that love go. You don't have to hang on to any love too tightly, or worry that it may leave, if the love resides in you.
I just wanna know, how did God know that we would miss such an obvious lesson that it needed to be written down? Guess it's that omnipotent thing... man. Puts light in your heart doesn't it?
@Nicole and Alegria The fascinating thing about how Paul wrote the Spiritual Gifts passage and followed it directly with the love passage is that it suggests something very literal... that love is the key to unlocking our true power through the spirit. I'm still thinking about it.
ReplyDelete