Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Gift of Love
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1Cor 13:1)
 Amazing Love - a Gift from above
According to the dictionary, love is the strong affection, unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. Our Heavenly — Father possesses this quality in abundance. 1 John 4:8 even says: "God Is love". Was it a requirement on God's part that he epitomize love? No, God's love is a gift. The Bible explains what love is? One thing that the Bible mentions about love is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:4 where it says: "Love is... kind". We owe our very existence to God's desire to display love towards others. Love caused God to create us and everything around us. Love moved God to give us not only everything we need to survive, but also things we simply enjoy like beautiful flowers and delicious food. Are these not acts of kindness?
Expressions of Love — Mark of God's Children.
Now that we have received God's gift of love, what should we do with it? We must do our utmost to imitate our Heavenly Father's example of love, just as a son out of admiration imitates his fleshly father. The apostle Paul emphasized this in his first letter to the early Christian congregation in Corinth when he said: "If I have the gift of prophesying and am acquainted with all the sacred secrets and all knowledge and if I have all the faith so as to transplant mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2) The apostle Paul was letting us know that since we received God's gift of love, it is now our responsibility to cultivate that quality in ourselves. Our showing love to others will form bonds between brothers, in turn families, in turn congregations, and will ultimately unite all of God's people. It will also show that we are truly made in the image of our Father that resides in the heavens. What an honor it would be for God to be able to look down at us and see qualities of himself in us. What a blessing it would be for us to be clearly recognized as God's children!
When asked what is needed to sustain a human life, some would promptly say food, shelter and water. Is that all that what is needed? Without God's gift of love, humans would not even exist. And if he did not continue to show his love by continuously providing for our physical needs, we would not be here today. God designed us with the need to love and be loved. This can easily be seen in the way a mother cares for her little child. And if we strive to coat our relationships with others with love, we will form bonds that will never be broken. After all, "Love never fails".
PRAYER
Loving father, help us to understand you more clearly, follow you more nearly and love you more dearly
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Love is like a perfume. We cannot pour it on others without getting a few drops on ourselves.
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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