God's Word for Me Today
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Focus: Our Mission: One Person at a Time
A note about online study
Introduction to God's Word for Me Today
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, the one thing that will identify me as Your child today is Your love living in me and being demonstrated to others through me. I pray for that love, for the self-giving love of Your Son, Jesus, to dwell in me richly today, and every day. As I open Your Word, open my heart, my mind and my life to hear it and obey. Guide me today to live only for Your, and for the advancement of Your coming Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
God's Word for Me Today: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13
First, however, let me tell you about something else that is better than any of them! 1If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. 3If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. 6It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. 9Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! 10But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
11It’s like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor 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 knows me now.
13There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Questions for Reflection
What are some of the ideas and beliefs that you held as a child, which you no longer hold?
Given all the ways we use the word “love” in our daily lives, what is the true meaning of love?
Questions for Exploration
What does Paul say about the impact of speaking in tongues, prophecy, and service, in relationship to love? (13:1-3)
What are the characteristics of love according to Paul? (12:4-7)
What are the enduring gifts of the Holy Spirit? (13:8-13)
Of the enduring gifts, which is the greatest? (13:13)
Questions for Understanding
Why does Paul place such a major emphasis on the gift of love, after spending an entire chapter on the importance of all the spiritual gifts, and of each of us using whatever gift we’ve received to build up the body of Christ?
Why is love the “litmus test” for Christians?
Questions for Application
Paul lists specific actions that love does and does not carry out in 13:4-7. How will you apply them in your life today?
Ask God to fill you with His love and to let it overflow into your daily relationships.
How does Paul’s teaching on love inform you understanding of love in practical ways?
The Greatest Gift!
After investing a great deal of space to teaching us about spiritual gifts, Paul tells us that all of these gifts are overshadowed by one gift—the gift of love. Love has so many meanings in our culture. We say, “I love pizza.” “I love the Steelers.” “I love my wife.” “I love God.” Obviously, all the statements don’t carry the same weight. (At least I hope they don’t!) Paul uses the word “love” in a very specific way. In fact, it is a very specific word. In Greek there are several words for love. The one Paul used here is “agape.” Agape is self-giving concern and action for another. Agape is God’s love for us. Agape is demonstrated fully in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection on our behalf!
The greatest gift God can give us is the gift of love—of agape. We may be able to do all kinds of miracles. We may be a whiz with numbers or words. We may have all kinds of talent or ability in any area, but without love we are—nothing. When it’s all said and done, people don’t care how much we know. The want to know how much we care. In the terrible tragedy of several weeks ago, our culture learned that money doesn’t matter, politics doesn’t matter, sports don’t matter—what matters is our love (agape) and concern for one another. May we who bear the name of Jesus pray for that love to be shown in our lives that God may be glorified, and that we may be used to share the new life of Jesus with the world, one person at a time!
To view the studies for other days, visit the God's Word for Me Today calendar.