City Life Starter

The Word (1 Corinthian 13:11-12)

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

By Blesson C Selvanesan

In this chapter, Paul writes about the good virtues that a believer in Christ should possess. He exhorts the Corinthian church to show maturity and turn away from their childish ways. He talks about the various gifts and their usefulness. More than any other gifts, he showcases the importance of love. Paul not only talk about love but also instructs the believers what exactly love is and, in a church setting how exactly it should show. He explicitly tells them what love is and what love isn’t.

He then tells them that love is a divine expression and it’s a sign of maturity. Paul was a spiritual child once and that is when he was filled with hatred and persecuted the Church. When he grew in faith and he gave up his old ways. Love is an attribute of God. As finite beings, we can only see a reflection of God, but a day will come when we will meet him face to face and love will be fully poured out for us. When we see God, faith and hope will disappear as they are no longer needed, but love will still remain as God is love.

Application

Being a believer is a transformative process. Paul is teaching believers in Christ to undergo metamorphosis. ‘Grow up’ he says, its time to be adults. Leave your childish ways and behave like adults and show maturity. Church is not a place to fight or grumble, it’s a place to love. In today’s church, we do talk about love, do we really show love? Love has a consequence, it’s not love until its expressed. God loved, and He gave His Son for us. Are we willing to give? I was reading a few days back in a news report about a church. Apparently, believers were fighting over an election in church and police had to be called in to keep order. Police then found guns and machetes and arrested several for intent to commit murder inside a church! Where is love?

The world will only see God’s love through the action of believers. We are called to be imitators of God and to reflect Him. Do we show love in our actions? It does not matter how long we have known Christ or how long we have been going to church. If there is no fruit, if there is no love, we are no different from a non-believer. We need to have a desire and longing to grow and reflect Christ in our actions.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for this day. Help me to be an adult and not to be like a child. Help me to give love and not just to receive love. Help me to give up my childish ways and behave like a mature believer. Even as I see your reflection, give me faith to move forward trusting you until we meet face to face. In Jesus Name. Amen.