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Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
~1 Corinthians 13:1
Speaking is a huge part of everyday life (unless you are a monk) We talk quite a bit each day, mostly to others, sometimes to ourselves. We talk to all kinds of different people, our family, friends, acquaintances, and business people. As Christians, the way we talk in public is very important to us, we have to sound good so people will notice the difference in us, but are we really genuine?
This verse is telling us that, even if we say an absolutely beautiful thing in the most lovely way, if we're not genuine, if we aren't speaking these things in love, were just making a bunch of worthless, irritating noise. People can tell if you're not genuine, they're not usually stupid on that point, all they see is a person that is trying to look better than everyone else. If we truly want to love others and show them the love of Christ, then we need to speak in love.
The Lord has really been showing me a lot in my life lately! One of the biggest things I'm learning is how to truly love someone. The Lord brought this to my attention through what I call a "Divine Trial", when a relationship with someone who is really close to me was going through a "growing pains" stage. Why is it that we only learn through trials? I believe it's because once you've been through a trial, what you learned during that hard time really sticks to you and you understand it more than if someone just told you everything. Something means more to you if you've had to fight for it.
One of the primary places in the Bible that teaches what true, pure love really is, is in 1 Corinthians 13. This is a fairly common chapter, appropriately referred to as the "Love Chapter".
1 Though 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 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 puffed up; 5does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, 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 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.
My desire in the next few weeks, is to go through this chapter and really look at each part of it and expand on each thing. I'm not pretending to know all about this topic, my knowledge of it merely scratches the surface! But I want to share what the Lord has taught me. So that's what I'm going to be blogging about for a while. My hope is that we can all learn to have a more perfect love, for each other and the Lord!*Photo from Flickr
Here we are in the most dreaded month of the year, (especially in California) and the weather is actually below the nineties?!?! It totally feels like fall! There has been a delicious breeze every day so far! The skies have been partly cloudy, and there's no unbearably hot sun, amazing! I am thoroughly enjoying the gift of gorgeous weather from the Lord! Hope everyone else is enjoying this beautiful time!
