Devotionals on 1 Corinthians 13

Here are the devotionals I wrote for the BB Admin based on 1 Corinthians 13.

Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 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.
2 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.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

This passage is a stark reminder that love is necessary in everything that we do. The first verse tells us that we may be perfect and righteous in speech, but if we only say things for the sake of saying them and say them without love, then our words are as useful as the noise from a gong or cymbal. In short, what we say is meaningless. The second verse says that even if we are infinitely smart and can understand anything and know everything, and EVEN if we have a faith that can allow us to do great things, yet do not have love in our hearts, we are nothing. The third verse states that even if we do lots of good things, including giving away all we posess to the poor and even giving up our bodies, but do not have love, we gain nothing.

These three examples tell us that we may think highly of ourselves just because we say the right things, or are very smart and have a trmendous faith, or even are willing to sacrifice everything we own and are, but the most fundamental thing we need to have is very simple: love. We may have a high position in BB or in the school, but do we carry out our duties just for the sake of it and just to get acknowledgement from our teachers and peers, or just to get that promotion? Or do we do our duties because of the joy of serving our peers, the company and most importantly God?

Take a little time to think about and reflect on your life. Why are you doing the things that you do? Is it out of selfish ambition, or is it out of a love for others and God?

Pray and ask God today to help you love the people around you, so that you may learn and grow through serving them, be it within our company or within our school.

Remember Jesus' example. Even though He was God, and could have very well stayed where He was, He loved all of us enough to come down to earth a mortal man and suffer for us. During this time, He was filled with love. Love for his Father, and love for all of us. Through his actions, he was not only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. He was the epitome of love, which culminated in His death for us.

Will you fill your life with love to the point of deciding to dedicate it to others?

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Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

These few verses tell us what love is. It sums up all things that love should be, and also touches on what it shouldn't. With such a long list to keep in mind and consider, how would we effectively apply it to our daily lives?

The answer is to get your strength to love from God. Firstly you must lay down everything in your life and truly seek God. As you develop spiritually, you will find that your prespectives in life will change. As you daily reflect on and ponder over what Jesus has done in your lif:; saving you from eternal suffering, you will find the strength to love
the people around you with a love that can only be divinely given. Doesn't it make sense? God has given so much to you: eternal life! Would you not then be filled with joy overflowing? This overflowing would translate to your being able to truly love others. You will find that you have been given so much, and it would only be natural to give it away.

Take some time to consider how you have been treating your friends, both people whom you like and those you don't really fancy. God tells us to love EVERYONE, not just our friends. He did not say 'Love your friends as yourself.' He did not say 'Love people who are easy to love as yourself.' Instead, His commandment is to 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' (Matthew 22:39)

(On a side note, this command was actually given to us waaaaay back in the beginnings of the Old Testement. Leviticus 19:18 reads: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself.")

Have you been treating these friends with love? What about other people who may not be so easy to show love to? Pray and ask God for strength to show true love. Love is very important! In the next part of my series of devotionals on 1 Corinthians 13, we will discover just how important and powerful love is.

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Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13:8-12

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Verse 8 describes the permanence of love. It basically states that love will outlast prophecies, words and knowledge. This coincides with the mentioning of these three things in the first two verses of 1 Corinthians 13, which we have studied before. The two verses said that these things have no value without love, but here it is mentioned that even when all these things pass away and become unnecessary, love will still remain.

This and the next few verses may not make sense to you at first because it appears to be talking about seperate and unrelated things. The context in which these verses are written is actaully in the concept of the present (on earth) versus the future (in heaven, eternity).

Verses 9 and 10 provide an easily understood contrast based on this concept: here on earth, we do not know the entire truth and hence only prophesy in part. But when eternity comes, all that we have here on earth will be gone, including prophecies, words and knowledge. Verse 11 provides a less clear analogy: it likens us on earth to the way a child behaves. It shows that the abovementioned spiritual gifts, while necessary when we are 'children' on earth, will no longer be needed when we have 'grown up', in heaven.

Verse 12 comprises two parts: the mirror analogy and the next part about knowing ourselves. This simply shows that what we see ourselves as now is cloudy and unclear, but when we see Jesus face to face, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

How does all this relate to love? It shows that love is very powerful and important, being the only thing that will outlast this earth as we know it. This is summed up in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13:

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Faith is needed on earth because we do not yet know God fully because we are unable to see Him. Hope is needed on earth becase we do not lead a happy life here, and hence must hope in the Lord for a better future in heaven. When we go into heaven, however, faith is no longer needed. We will see God for who He really is. We will see His power and His majesty, and we will believe. Hope is also no longer needed because we would then be in a perfect place where we have found eternal joy.

All that is left of faith, hope and love is love. When we are finally in heaven for eternity, we will be able to, in the divine presence of God, love Him for who He is in happiness and contentment. There will no longer be a need for faith or hope.

Now that you have read and understood 1 Corinthians 13, how has your attitude towards love changed? What new things have you learnt about love? Remember that God commands us to love Him and to love our neighbours because after all is said and done, nothing will remain but love!

-Jont