Living As the Beloved Of God

Meditations in First Corinthians

June 13, 2022

Living As the Beloved Of God 

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:7

A few things to keep in mind as you read chapter 13, the Love Chapter. First, to the great shame of the church, this chapter has been relegated to weddings and poems. This chapter is the very essence of everything the Apostle Paul believed.

To continue with the metaphor of the symphony I used last Tuesday (June 7), do not think of chapter 13 as a ‘stand-alone’ chapter. It is the central part of a great symphony that is chapters 12, 13, and 14. They all go together.

Within this divine music of the Kingdom, you can see the core of Paul’s theology. We, the followers of Jesus, are living today by the values of the Kingdom of God. Today, we are the children of God; therefore, we set our hearts and minds on learning to live as the Beloved of God. As you read verses 4-7, think of how you see these qualities, attributes, and characteristics in the life of Jesus.

Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:5

“Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus.”

How do we see the attributes of Jesus in verses 4-7, being revealed in our life? You may want to do this exercise in two parts. Paul lists both attributes that love is, and those which love is not. First, focus on love is patient, kind, rejoices whenever the truth wins out, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love never gives up, never loses faith. How do we see these attributes in our daily lives?

Next, Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice. Again, how do we see these attributes in our daily lives?

My Takeaway: Becoming like Jesus, is our destiny, loving like Jesus is our destiny.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.