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November 6 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1 In the 13th chapter of this letter, Paul has explained agape love. He has called it the greatest gift. Now, in this 14th chapter, he asks us to not only pursue love, but also to especially pursue the gift of prophecy. Why? I believe we are seeing here the fact that all gifts are to be accompanied by love. If we have the gift of prophecy, and do not have love, then we know that we are like a noisy gong in the life of those that hear and see us. So, it is no wonder that Paul asks us to seek the gift of prophecy, for when it is coupled with love the world will be attracted to the message and to the provider of the message, God. I would dare say that many of us think that we do not have the gift of prophecy. But be careful, for haven’t most of us told others about the coming of the Lord? There you have it, when you say that you are speaking a word of the Lord, it may or may not have anything to do with the future. To prophesy is to speak for the Lord—to convey in words what the Lord wants revealed. How do I pursue love? Certainly it is not attainable by earthly, fleshly methods. It cannot be counterfeited, but I am afraid many try to do this. When we try to fake it, we only come across as hypocrites, which in the original Greek is the word used to describe an actor on a stage. How foolish we look when we try to mimic the ways of God. So pursuing love involves our submission to the person of God, allowing Him to work His way into us and through us to all who would be in our presence. The Holy Spirit becomes our guide and the power behind the love. Father, we ask to be servants that express your love. Only you can give us this gift, and we acknowledge that Jesus has secured that gift for us at the cross. Let us walk today more closely with Him and learn from Him. Amen. |
