Is Your Life a Cymbal Solo? Himalayan Heights – July 13 Readings: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 – Without Love

1 Corinthians 13: God's Love inUs

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.

Today's Reading:  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 

We all need love. We all want love. It is a basic human desire. Paul took a little-used word - agape - and infused it with new meaning. It signifies the love of God, a love that initiates, that seeks, and that acts for the good of the other.

We will spend 7 days focusing on 13 short verses this week, but if you will learn and inculcate this into your life, it will revolutionize how you live. Learn what God's love is all about and how to live in God's love in a sinful world.

If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. 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 put aside childish things. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. 13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.

Through the Bible Readings: Ezra 7-8, Acts 13:1–12, Psalm 81:11–16, Proverbs17:12–13

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional:  Is Your Life a Cymbal Solo?    

Imagine that I stood before you and began to speak in foreign tongues that I hadn't studied, proclaiming the message of the Gospel to people who had not heard about Jesus. I know tongues is a controversial topic, but admit it, you'd be impressed, wouldn't you? Imagine again that I could speak direct messages from God, or that I was able to understand every mystery, answer every question, and knew everything about everything, you would be amazed, right? Oh, you might find me insufferable, but when you had a question, you'd come to me, wouldn't you? Try this one. Imagine you saw me pray, in faith, and make a mountain actually move - from here to there. "Mountain, move that way." And it DID! You'd follow me anywhere, wouldn't you? If I gave everything I had to the poor, sacrificing all my worldly possessions for the sake of others, would you be impressed? Finally, what would you think if I went to my death for the cause of Christ?

Can we agree that those would be some pretty impressive achievements? The mastery of spiritual gifts such as tongues or prophecy, manifestations like knowledge and faith. Great generosity toward others. The commitment to die for my faith.

And Paul says here that unless these are done in an attitude of godly love they count for absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. My words are like clanging cymbals - loud but meaningless. My great knowledge and acts of faith are nothing and my sacrifice accomplishes nothing of eternal value. Wow.

Do you realize the insinuation Paul is making here? It is possible to do great things "for" God but actually be serving yourself and your own glory. This passage (obviously) follows chapter 12, which discusses the Corinthians' love for spiritual gifts and their belief that gifts and manifestations proved how spiritual a person was.  Paul here says you can operate POWERFULLY in spiritual gifts while also being completely self-centered and devoid of love. You can be sacrificial but be doing it to make a name for yourself or to receive the praise of others and it means nothing.

As we spend this week meditating on this chapter, we will be learning what love is in God's eyes. It is not an emotion, but it is action - a verb! When we love, we act for the good of others. It is "self-sacrifice serving others." There are fifteen specific actions that define love. There is a lot of power in this chapter, but the key is found in these first three verses. Unless we walk in love, nothing we do matters. Self-centeredness, self-glory, anger - when we work out of any motive other than LOVE our works, no matter how great on human terms, accomplish nothing in the eyes of God.

Please, do not let your life become a cymbal solo - loud, but annoying and pointless. Let love rule and guide you. Let the Spirit speak to you this week as we study love.

Father, show me the way of love. Help to learn even more this week about the life of love, about what your love is, so that my life will not be a cymbal solo!

Think and Pray:

Take some time today to think about the motives of your work for Christ?
Do you serve out of love for Christ and others? For selfish reasons? For glory?
Ask God to show you about the way of love this week.