1 Corinthians 12:31

In this chapter, Paul spent a long time carefully describing the spiritual gifts that God has given to his Church. The church in Corinth had become very excited about the gifts but they needed clear guidance as to how they should be used. At this point, Paul pointed out that, exciting and important as gifts are, life at its best is quite simply a life of love.

Paul was convinced of the supreme importance of love. So much so that even the most gifted person in the world cannot manage without it. At the beginning of chapter 13 he described a person who speaks like an angel but said that without love their words would be totally empty. They would sound like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. He then built up a picture of the sort of gifted person who seemed to have it all. They had the gift of prophecy and were so good at it that they understood all of God’s secrets, and possessed all knowledge. Just imagine! But more, this person had such enormous faith that shunting mountains around was done with ease. And, to cap it all, they were so committed to their faith that they gave all that they owned to the poor and gladly offered to be a martyr. Wow! Such a person would surely be the most spiritual person who had ever lived. But Paul says that without love then they would have totally missed the point.

Loving needs to be the goal of our lives because it is only then that we will reflect the life of Jesus. His life was the perfect example of love, and found its supreme expression in his death on the cross. When we live a life of love, we are actually giving people an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Jesus himself.

Question

To what extent would you say that love is the goal of your life?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the perfect love that you have shown me in your Son. Help me to reflect his love in the way that I think, speak and act today. Amen