Lutheran Daily Devotional 26 January 2022 | Wednesday Message
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Topic: The Greatest Is Love
Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13 –Â
31bAnd yet I show you a more excellent way.
1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body [b]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [c]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [d]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is [e]perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Lutheran Daily Devotional 26 January 2022 Message
When I was young, I used to disagree with 1 Corinthians 13:13. I didn’t want to argue with the Word of God, but in my own opinion, it was truth that ought to be the greatest of all the virtues. I was terribly afraid of people lying to me—it made me feel like my world was shaking. I wanted something firm and trustworthy, something I could stand on.
I still think I was right to put a high value on truth. But when I grew up and my family went into missionary service, I began to see that something more was needed.
Truth got us to—well, the bedrock of a situation. Once the lies and self-serving exaggerations and unspoken bits were all cleared out, we could usually see what was going wrong—whether that was in a family we were caring for or in a social problem, like drug addiction or homelessness. But truth ended there. We could see what was missing, but we didn’t have the power or imagination to figure out what came next—what the healing should be. Only love could show us that. Only Jesus—love embodied.
1 Corinthians 13 is many things, but above all it is a picture of Jesus. It shows us our Savior as He is toward us—infinitely patient, never resentful or rude or cranky. It shows us His kindness—bearing insults and pain and constant frustration that goes with dealing with the human race. It shows Him doing all this with the overarching hope that we should be healed, should be saved, should come to the real, joyful, whole life that God intends for us as His people. And to that end, it shows us Jesus, giving away all that He had in order to become our Savior, to die and to rise for us—so that we might live forever.
Love never ends, says Paul. Looking at Jesus, we can believe it.
THE PRAYER: Dearest Lord, draw us close to You and use us as instruments of Your love. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. What is your favorite virtue? Why?
2. What part of this chapter stands out to you as a description of how Jesus is toward you right now?
3. How do you think people learn to love?
Today’s Bible Readings:Â Genesis 23-24Â Â Â Â Matthew 17
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Lutheran Daily Devotional 26 January 2022. Lutheran Hour Ministries is a trusted resource in global media that equips and engages a vibrant volunteer base to passionately proclaim the Gospel to more than 150 million people worldwide each week. Through its North American headquarters and ministry centers on six continents, LHM reaches into more than 60 countries, often bringing Christ to places where no other Christian evangelistic organizations are present. LHM’s flagship ministry, The Lutheran Hour®, airs weekly on more than 1,800 radio stations and the American Forces Network.