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1 Corinthians 13:1-3
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. If I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all
I possess to the poor and surrender my body to
the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
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August 7
Gifts in Love
1 Corinthians 13 is known
as the love chapter. It is very commonly
recited in weddings. The first three
verses are often overlooked but they are the key
that ties spiritual gifts to the perfect love
that Paul writes about.
In short, Paul says that
we can do as many great things as we want but if
we do it without love it is useless. The
Pharisees did what they believed were the right
things to do but they did it out of ritual and
guilt. They confused these things with a
love for God.
Jesus did say that if we
love him we will obey his commands in John 14:15
but obeying does not mean that we love him.
Fortunately we should not have difficult using
our gifts in love because God has made us
naturally inclined to want to use them.
If you have a gift of
singing, it should be a joy for you to use it.
If your gift is counseling it should be natural
for you to offer sound advice to someone.
On the flip side, when
we're not working within the areas that we're
gifted it may be a struggle or even unpleasant
to serve. If this is the case maybe it is
time to look in another direction and try to
find something closer to where you're gifted.
You'll find it is much easier to work in love
when you do so. |
