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We should use the abilities that God’s Spirit has given us in ways that show that we love others.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1 Supposing we could speak all the various languages [MTY] that people in the world speak and even speak the language that angels speak. If we did not love others, speaking those languages would be as useless as beating a brass gong or clanging cymbals together. 2 Supposing we had the ability to speak messages that come directly from God, and we could understand the plans that he has not yet revealed to others, and we could know everything about everything, and we believed in God so strongly that we could do impossible things like causing mountains to move. If we did not love others, God would consider all that to be worthless. 3 And supposing we would give everything that we own to poor people, and would let others kill us in order that we could boast about sacrificing our own bodies. If we did not love others, we would not get any reward from God.
4 Those who [PRS] truly love others act patiently and kindly toward them. Those who [PRS] truly love others are not jealous of them, they do not boast about what they themselves have done, and are not proud. 5 Those who [PRS] truly love others do not act in disgraceful/disrespectful ways towards them. They do not ◄act selfishly/think only of themselves and what they want►. They do not quickly become angry. They do not keep remembering the bad things that others have done to them. 6 Those who [PRS] truly love others do not rejoice when people do evil things, but they do rejoice when people act righteously. 7 Those who truly love others patiently put up withthe faults of others. They do not quickly assume that others have done something bad. They confidently expect that others will act righteously. They patiently endure all their own troubles.
8 We should never [PRS] let anything stop us from continuing to love others. As for the ability to speak messages that come directly from God, some day that will come to an end. As for the ability to speak languages [MTY] that we have not learned, that will also come to an end some day. And as for the ability to know things that God reveals to us, that will come to an end some day because it will not be necessary any more. 9 God does not reveal everything to us, and we cannot know everything that he knows. 10 But when everything is perfect after Christ returns, things which are not perfect now, such as the abilities which God’s Spirit gives us, will ◄disappear/come to an end►. 11 When we were children, we talked like children talk, we thought like children think, we reasoned like children reason. But when we grew up, we got rid of our childish ways [MET]. Similarly, you need to get rid of your childish thinking about the abilities that the Spirit has given you. 12 In this life we do not understand everything fully. It is like [MET] looking at something indirectly by seeing it in a mirror. But when we get to heaven [MTY], we will understand everything clearly. It will be like talking to someone face-to-face. Now we know only part of everything that God wants us to know. Then we will know everything completely, just like God knows us completely. 13 So now there are three things that we must continue to do: To trust in God, to confidently expect to receive what he will give us, and to love others. But the greatest of those three things is loving others.

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.