I Corinithians 13 is the New Testament Lesson from today’s Morning Prayer Lectionary. Sometimes its best to just let the Word of God speak.
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV)
Shane+
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1 Jim Pruitt // Sep 3, 2008 at 1:18 pm
This beautiful passage on love used to be the keynote passage to every talk given when I first became a Christian in 1970. Since then the talk of love, and of the One who is Love, has turned to talk of grace and freedom and identity. To paraphrase this passage a bit, So, now abide grace, freedom, identity, and love, but the greatest of these is love.
Shane, thanks for letting the profound eloquence of this scripture speak for itself.
2 Stewart Black // Sep 3, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Shane, please allow me to echo Jim’s comments. The Scriptures speak for themselves so eloquently; and sometimes we tend to forget that. Thank you.
3 Shane Copeland // Sep 3, 2008 at 3:02 pm
You are both welcome. It had been a little while since I had read this chapter. Upon reading it this morning, I felt like the need to share it with others and let God simply speak throught it.
4 Sharon McNutt // Sep 4, 2008 at 7:38 am
From God’s mouth, I am reminded…what fulfills the law?….Love.
God give us, teach us more love.
Thank you, Shane.
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