SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
THOUGHT: Where the first two verses of this chapter on love talk about words, verse three turns toward actions – and what lies below them. To Jesus, motivation was as important as action, and what went on in your heart could be sin as easily as what went on with your hands. Paul is saying the same thing and it convicts me to ponder my own motivations more deeply. The main thing is, when I get to the end of this race, I sure don’t want it to all be in vain. If the grand gesture is more about getting others to love me than about me loving others, or if my right-living in front of others is for their approval, I’ve gotten all the reward I will get. Jesus suggests doing good in secret so there’s no confusing who I’m doing it to be seen by – that’s a good place to start.
SONG: Refiner’s Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqpOJMYJvhU
PRAYER: Lord, you have said the sacrifice that pleases you most is a broken and contrite heart. I would be broken over my intentions to gain the love of others without there really being any love involved. At the end of the race, it’s not boasting that I want, it’s being a faithful part of your big story.
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