Wind & Fire - ReflectionsSample

Written by Javier De La Rosa - Discipleship Minister at City on a Hill Melbourne

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (ESV)

Last Christmas, I was in charge of preparing the family meal. I planned carefully, bought the best ingredients, and even started preparing days in advance. Wanting to be especially diligent, I put the turkey in the oven early. Hours later, when I went to check on it, I discovered, much to my disbelief, that I had forgotten to turn the oven on. Everything was prepared, but the most essential element was missing.

The apostle Paul makes a similar point in 1 Corinthians 13. We can have the best intentions, the right knowledge, powerful gifts, and even a remarkable faith, but without love, we have nothing. Love is not an optional extra; it is the essential environment in which every spiritual gift must operate if it is to bear fruit.

Spiritual gifts are powerful, but they are never meant to replace love. They are meant to express it. When our gifts are exercised without love, they may impress others, but they will not build them up. Love is what gives weight, warmth, and lasting impact to everything we do in the name of Christ.

Reflect:

Based on today’s reading:

How is the Holy Spirit inviting me to respond today, for God’s glory and the good of others?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me with a patient, sacrificial, and enduring love. Shape my heart by Your gospel, and teach me to love others as I have been loved. Help me to use the gifts You have given me not for myself, but for the good of others, with love at the centre. Amen.