Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 1 Corinthians 13 and Psalm 113-128

1 Corinthians 13 sits snugly between two chapters about spiritual gifts. And that is by no means random. Despite the fact that most of us associate 1 Corinthians 13 with weddings and romantic love, it is actually all about the “the most excellent way” to exercise one’s spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ (12:31).

No matter what the believer’s place in the local church may be, and no matter what one’s spiritual gift is, the most excellent and only eternally valuable way to exercise one’s gifts, ministry and relationships in the Body is in love. To do so in any way other than in love is ultimately worthless.

It is an empty and worthless exercise to do anything in Christ’s Kingdom that is driven by selfish desires like envy, boasting and pride; anything that advances self and dishonours others. When self is at the centre, anger and competition will be close at hand. All of these attitudes and behaviours are destructive. They do not build up the Kingdom-Family of Christ, they break it down!

On the other hand, it is a beautiful and eternally life-giving exercise to serve the Body of Christ from loving and selfless motives like protecting, honouring and developing others, and for the sake of persevering in relationships of honesty, trust, and hopeful expectation no matter what. When others and their best interests are at the centre, patience and kindness will be one’s hallmark, and the Kingdom-Family of Christ will be built into the healthy, flourishing community of grace it is designed to be.

The same is definitely true of a marriage or any other relationship too, so it’s never wrong to read this passage at a wedding. But it is first and foremost about how we exercise our place in the local church for the sake of building it up in love. That’s how I invite you to think about it today.

Life Application: Think about the relationships you have with your fellow church members. Honestly assess your motives and think about one significant change you can make to the way you interact so as to better pursue the motive of building them up in love.