Monday 1st August
1 Corinthians 12:31–13:1
But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Love is the most important aspect of our lives!
In another place, Jesus says that all of Scripture can be summed up in two commands: love God with all your being and love others as fervently as you look out for yourself.
In today’s passage, Paul is bringing to our attention this crucial reality—the thing that makes our Christian experience all that it should be is not speaking in tongues, or any other amazing spiritual experience that God might bless you with.
The ‘key’ to the effective Christian life is love! Without it, any other qualification you might claim is meaningless.
You don’t want to be a ‘noisy gong or a clanging cymbal’, all noise and no reality. God is reminding you today that the measure of the reality of your Christian life is your love for the people around you. The fact that you really get into worship, or seem super spiritual at church is only meaningful if you also show Jesus’ love to the people in your life.
So, how much reality (love) flows from your life?
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