From Rev. Suzanne:
1 Corinthians 13 ~The
Gift of Love If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to
remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that
I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices
in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for
prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know
only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child,
I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even
as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Love is in the air. Walk into CVS, Rite Aid, or any grocery store, and you will see chocolate hearts, displays
of cards, and balloons. Jewelry stores have so many diamonds in the windows; you practically need sunglasses to shield your
eyes. Valentine's Day is here.
The love promoted by the advertisers this month is an
emotional kind based on feelings. And what a wonderful feeling love is-the first grasp of your newborn as she winds her small
fingers around yours, the look of love in the eyes of a bride and groom on their wedding day, the love shared between two
old friends at their high school reunion. Emotional love is wondrous.
As
Christians, we are called to a different sort of love as well. In addition to enjoying emotional love, Jesus calls us to love
others as He loved us. But what does that kind of love look like?
1 Corinthians 13 gives us a
glimpse. If you'd like to deepen your understanding of Christian love, here's a practical spiritual
exercise
for the month of February:
· Start each day with prayer, including reading 1 Cor 13
· Each day, focus on one of the components of love (for example, on Monday you may focus on patience, on Tuesday,
kindness, on Wednesday, avoiding envy)
· As you go about your day, look for opportunities
to practice this manifestation of love, or to refrain from behaviors that are the antithesis of loving action. Across all
the spheres of your life, including work and home, practice the discipline of extending Christian love in action.
As we move into February, let's enjoy and celebrate emotional love; after all, love is grand. But let's
also call ourselves to a deeper understanding of what it is to love as Christians. If we take the time, the "better angels
of our nature" are sure to shine brighter than any diamond...
Rev. Suzanne+
