S241P7 – That which love seeks: to be the anchor
1 Cor. 13:1-3
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 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. 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.
He was raised in a home where mom and dad made sure that the kids always had what they needed, and they also gave them plenty of what they wanted. There was no lack in that home. He shared plenty of fun times with his parents and his siblings. He had many memories to rest in as an adult when he thought about what it was like to live in that happy home. Of all the memories from his youth and childhood, one thing sticks out above all else. It is not the things they had or the places they went. It is not the people they called friends or the status they held among their peers. What shines brighter than anything else is the security and support he found in that home. That is what allowed him to be fruitful in every area of his life.
Paul speaks of many good things we should desire to have and do as followers of Jesus Christ. Speaking in tongues is a gift. Prophecy is a gift. Generosity and compassion are gifts from God as well. However, to possess those gifts and to exercise them means nothing without the proper foundation of love. We can give to others with the most selfish of motives, and that makes a difference. We can speak the most incredible and powerful prophecies, but they lose their flavor when we speak them for the sake of elevating ourselves. Love seeks to be the anchor and foundation of our lives because it wants our motives to be pure and holy. Love desires to give us the proper support from which to launch our life of faith.
Love surely is our launching pad. It is the home in which we can be secure and from which we derive strength and courage. It informs our motives and places things in the proper perspective so that we can make sure that we are acting according to God’s holy will and not our own. When we love others, we should have the same goal. We want to provide the proper spiritual support so that they can prosper spiritually as well. When we teach and direct others in the faith, it must be from the foundation of the love of Christ and it working through us. Father God, thank You for the anchor of your love and how it works in our lives.