June 18, 2024 - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT

Lord, what a tragedy it will be if we get to heaven and find out that the way we lived our lives was for nothing. These verses tell us that we can have some amazing gift from you and not accomplish anything for you. We can operate in those gifts and maybe appear to be an amazing Christian, but it could all be for nothing. What really matters is our hearts. It is what is the motive behind what we are doing. Are we preaching the Gospel, so we look like a great Christian? Do we sing your praises to show off our talent and gain approval and recognition? There are so many things that we can strive after that are about pleasing our flesh more than about pleasing you.

When we stand before you on judgement day and must give an account for all of our actions, we will find that what you find pleasing isn’t what all we accomplished for you, but what we accomplished for you with the right motives. Lord, this can be a challenging thought. Please forgive us for all the things that we do in your name, yet somewhere in us the actual motive is to build up our flesh and not honor you. Holy Spirit, we invite you to come and open our eyes to these things. Help us overcome our flesh and learn to walk in a way that fully brings you honor in all we do.

In Jesus name, amen.