If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT) If I could - those are the most telling words about the motivation behind our actions, aren't they? If I could, I would... These are the words we most often speak when we want to do something but somehow have ourselves talked into not doing it or being incapable of doing it. The real telling words of this passage are not those, though. They are: 'but didn't love others'. The motivation matters, yes, but the heart behind the motivation matters most! We can have a l...
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (I Corinthians 13:6-7 NLT) Many years ago, Abraham Lincoln said, "My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth." Truth must win out in order for America to really be great again. Truthful individuals must lead. Individuals who have put their hope and faith in Jesus Christ and him alone. If we are to be a nation of hope, we must first be a nation of loving, loyal, faithful followers of Jesus. Followers of Jesus don't turn a blind eye to injustices all around them. They stand up for the oppressed and fight the warfare that moves heaven and earth - spiritual warfare. We see many who are willing to rise up against the injustices they observe in a physical sense, but are there men and women who follow Jesus rising up in spiritual warfare agains...