A devotional by Essie Faye
“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.”—1 Corinthians 13:2 (NKJV)
I gasped as I witnessed an episode of road rage. Two cars sped by as one driver leaned out of the driver side window yelling obscenities while frantically waving his hands. The woman in the car to its left yelled back using offensive hand gestures. I was happy and relieved to see them drive far away from me.
Nowadays hatred and violence are all around us, but God’s love is very present. There are countless episodes of physical altercations, cyberbullying, injustice, discrimination, and verbal attacks in our world today. But we also experience random acts of kindness, outbreaks of joy, understanding, and safe spaces.
Darkness can never win when light is present. I can combat every display of evil with love. I can fight darkness with light. God loves humanity. He shows His love for us in various ways. He blesses us with life each day. He keeps us safe from harm. He spends time with us and provides for our needs. He even gives us what we want sometimes. Because God loves humanity passionately, He also wants us to do the same. As followers of Jesus Christ, our life’s mission should be to love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul defines true love. He clearly explains how true love acts, feels, and what it sounds like. He is a witness of the overwhelming love of God. When he ignorantly was an enemy of God, God’s love surrounded him. God’s love pursued Him and confronted him with loving truth and revelation. God forgave his murderous ways and accepted him as a son, though he didn’t deserve it. Love saw every flaw and shortcoming of his yet embraced him still.
Paul was multi-talented and multi-gifted, yet he says, “If I have the gift of prophecy… but I don’t have love, I am nothing.” In other words, he asserts that you can be incredibly gifted but if you don’t have love, your life lacks one of life’s essentials. Paul was well-studied. He was gifted to connect with people from different cultural backgrounds. Paul was blessed to operate in several of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He was a gifted sailor, orator, teacher, writer, and witness for Jesus Christ. He won countless souls for Jesus. Paul was a mentor and founder of many Christian churches. He understood that love was most important in order to impact the world for the glory of God.
The Apostle Paul was a man of wisdom and great knowledge, yet he knew, in the words often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Love is transformative. Loving acts can melt the coldest heart and heal the deepest wound.
Love is essential to our survival. It is essential to living an abundant life and sharing the Good News with others. God is love. We who are His children on Earth should demonstrate love through our character, actions, and words. Paul teaches that only what we do for Christ will last. Therefore, we should not focus too much on our accolades and accomplishments that we make in this life on Earth because it is our possession of love that is most valuable and important. Love transforms people and situations. Love never fails!
Call to Action:
1. Assess your level of love for God, yourself, and others then check yourself.
2. Walk in humility, acknowledging that love is more important than your gifts, talents, work experience and knowledge.
3. Share the love of God with neighbors, loved ones, and enemies through your words and actions.
4. Share the Gospel message with others and allow your love to transform yourself first and others around you.
5. Remember: God’s love must be exemplified by His children (1 John 4:20).
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, there is no god like You. You are Love. You gave Your only Son (Jesus) because you love humankind. You sent Your Comforter (The Holy Spirit) because you love us. You sent Your Word (The Holy Bible) also because of your love for all of us. Thank You for loving us passionately, unconditionally, and with abandon. Teach us how to accept this unfathomable love, though we don’t deserve it and we can never comprehend it. Help us to love one another with a love so pure and pleasing to You. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers. In the Name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Song of Reflection #1: “Nothing Like Your Love” by Hillsong United. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #2: “Relentless” by Hillsong United. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #3: “Love is the More Excellent Way” by Babbie Mason. Listen to it here.
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Author Bio:
Essie Faye is a woman of faith.
She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter.
Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.
Essie is a Chicago native.
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Connect with Essie:
Website: www.essiefaye.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/
Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here: http://bible.us/r/Abn
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