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. 1 Corinthians 13:8
What a wonderful way to open the week with the truth that real love never fails, and God’s love for us is the perfect example. It isn’t that it is blind to our failings and the ways we let him and each other down, but it is greater than them in the sense that it does not let our inadequacies get in the way of a relationship with him. And God calls us to love in the same way. Let us pray that we would strive to demonstrate this same love in our everyday lives.
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. 1 Corinthians 13:8
When we acknowledge God’s love and try to live out that love by loving one another, we will no longer need those things that the world depends on to overcome the let downs of life. Even more amazing is that a perfect love is eternal and sees beyond to a time when even those things that God gives us to support us in our relationship with him will no longer be required. Let us praise God for his amazing love.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 1 Corinthians 13:9
All the while we are alive on this earth we do not have the complete picture of God’s purpose and plan. Indeed, even those bits we see we cannot fully understand, because our terms of reference are the experiences of people who are by very nature limited in their ability to comprehend the awesome nature of God. Let us stand in awe as we pray to a God who reaches down to love us, as a good parent nurtures and teaches their child.
but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 1 Corinthians 13:10
We know that we live in a fallen and broken world, full of pain and struggles, where we often find ourselves asking why! But those who have placed their hope in Jesus have the assurance that a time will come, either when we pass from this world to the next or when Jesus returns, when what is currently unknown will become known and understood. Let us praise God for the promises we have in him both now and in eternity.
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 the ways of childhood behind me. 1 Corinthians 13:11
Do you ever ask God why he does not reveal his truth about a particular situation? We need to understand that just as a child cannot understand the complexities of budgeting finances or feeding a family with a balanced diet, so to God will only reveal to us what we are capable of understanding. We need to constantly grow in our faith in order that we might understand more of his ways. Let us pray that we would seek his way for our lives.
For now we see only a 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. 1 Corinthians 13:12
Our verse today reminds us of what we have already considered, that we cannot possibly understand the workings of God while we are part of the kingdom of earth. The best we can hope for is an occasional glimpse or reflection of him in the lives of those around us. But for those who have given their heart to the Lord the time will come when we will be in his presence and everything will be understood. Let us praise God for a full understanding at the right time.
For now we see only a 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. 1 Corinthians 13:12
We come in worship before God knowing that he knows us completely, there is nothing hidden from him, and still he loves us to the point that he could not love us any more. How amazing is that! Let us praise our wonderful God who loves us beyond our imagining. Let us give glory to him in the way we live.