November 19th - 1 Corinthians 13:8-10

1 Corinthians 13:8-10 The church in Corinth had clearly got really excited about the spiritual gifts. The gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy were being exercised with enthusiasm. We sense that, in their excitement, there was some competitiveness and confusion between members of the church. Paul certainly had to give them some very clear guidelines as to how these gifts should be used. He put these wonderful spiritual gifts firmly in their place. There is no question that they are amazing God-given gifts, but they don’t last forever. They stand in marked contrast to the gift of love, which is eternal. In common with faith and hope, love will never come to an end. A few weeks ago, we were looking at the Sermon on the Mount. There Jesus encouraged his disciples to focus their attention on the kind of treasure that lasts for ever. He pointed to the transitory nature of worldly possessions. They may look impressive for a while but then they are gone. Here, Paul spoke in exactly the same way, encouraging the church to make sure that they focused their life on those things that last for ever. At the beginning of the next chapter he urged them: “Let love be your highest goal!” Whatever our activities today, we need to ensure that love is at the centre of all that we do. Nothing could possibly be more important than that. Question How will you make love your goal today? Prayer Lord God, forgive me for those times when I struggle to be loving. Give me your strength so that I will make love the focus of all my activities and relationships today. Amen