Day Twelve
1 Corinthians 13:13 - 14:1
As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love. Make love your aim; but be eager, too, for spiritual gifts, and especially for prophesying.
Reflection
When all is said and done, love is the greatest: greater than faith and hope. Heaven is a kingdom of love, where all the citizens participate in an eternal communion of love with God, the angels and all the saints. There is no lack of love in this blessed kingdom. All of the saints excelled in love. All of the saints had love as their aim, for to live a holy life presupposes love.
Just as an archer takes aim at the bullseye on a target, Christians should aim for love, otherwise we will miss the mark, which is the literal translation of the Greek word for sin: amartia (a = away from; martia = mark). We are also encouraged to seek after spiritual gifts, particularly prophecy. The spiritual gifts are like the fruit of love; every Christian should bear fruit, and part of that fruit is the gifts of the spirit as well as fruits of the spirit. Prophesying is allowing God to speak his word through you to other people to build them up, encourge them and reassure them, as well as the community (1 Corinthians 14:3 - 4)
Prayer
I love you, Lord. Transform my life with your power and help me always to make love my aim. Help me to be loving even in difficult moments. May I use all the spiritual gifts, especially prophecy. Speak through me to others to build them up as well as the whole community.
Amen.
