Love, the very nature of God

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Here we see that faith, hope and love are elevated above spiritual gifts because they “will last forever.” It seems that almost everything I have read in the past few weeks has talked about love and how this is a commandment from God. Faith and hope are indispensable but “love” is the “greatest,” we are commanded to love one another just as Christ has loved us (read, John 13:24). We are not advised to, or encouraged to… we are commanded to love. This is an enormous responsibility, but as Christ followers we are obligated to live according to this command from God.

I have learned through scripture that love is the quintessential nature of God himself. Jesus Christ demonstrated this at Cavalry, when He gave His life on the Cross opening a door for us granting us access to the Father. We are called upon to return His love by sharing it. Starting today, let us share the love of Christ with our families, friends, lets even share it with total strangers! If we do this others might come to know Him, who chose us. What a powerful way to love God, allow Him to reach others through us. I can think of no better way to bring glory to my Savior than to share Him.

Loving Father,
I understand that loving you and one another is a command from you. Father, I do not have the strength or the wisdom to carry out this commandment on my own. Please Father; help me to always remember that love is a gift from You, a costly gift, and one that I can never earn or repay. Give me the guidance I need to cultivate love and to treasure this precious gift, now and always. I pray this in the name of the one who showed us how to love, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Spiritual Maturity

When I was a child. I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:11-13)

One thing I have learned is that spiritual maturity is a life long progression we have to continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ until we have the benefit of meeting him face to face. Here in the 13th chapter of Corinthians, Paul is telling the people of Corinth that love is what defines our worth to God and the church, not the spiritual gifts we have received from God, in fact without love our spiritual gifts are of no value. Verse 11 Paul explains the process of maturity and how as God’s children we must be ever growing in our faith and knowledge, or as Norman Vincent Peale put it, “Ask the God who made you to keep remaking you.”

As we read on into verse 12 Paul talks about how our knowledge of God is limited here in this life, but how we will know everything once Christ establishes his eternal kingdom, then we will see everything with perfect clarity. Verse 13 Paul explains to us that faith, hope and love are more important than spiritual gifts because they last forever and of these three the greatest is love, because love is the exemplary nature of God himself. Read 1 John 4:7-12.

Abba Father, I have so many more things to learn, I ask that you give me the will and courage to never give up, to never stop want to learn more about you and to know you more. I need you to keep me yearning to grow Father and I need your strength to develop me into the man you desire me to be. I pray this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.