1 Corinthians 13:1-13 It is love that makes a mature Christian

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. These verses are known as the love chapter in the Bible. It compares the virtues of love verses the virtues of faith and hope and concludes that love is most important to the world and especially a follower of Christ. It shifts one's focus from yourself to others and works to build up and not to tear down. It has the quality of patience and the strength to endure. It does not condemn but stays focused on the perfect - the mature in Christ. In the perfect sense, we all lack true love, but now have it in a dim way. The future is great for those in Christ because the day is coming where we will see Him face to face and will immediately be transformed. Daily Prayer: Lord help us to grow on the rudimentary love we now possess. Help us to exercise the love given us so that we imitate you in all areas of our lives. For the spiritual gifts received, let us share them freely in love, knowing that this glorifies you. In your holy name I pray Amen.