A Better Way of Life

1 Corinthians 12:31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts….But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.Spiritual gifts. Good things. Godly things, for they are given by God; however, just because they are given by God doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be employed in a godly manner. Spiritual gifts can edify the Church (AND they should), but they can also embitter the Church through competition and comparison. Paul was confronting such a thing in the Corinthian church.Paul made it clear that there are a variety of gifts and that each one has its place within the body of Christ. He listed a series of gifts, knowing full well the propensity of human beings to rank those gifts; consequently, he very quickly turned the attention of the Corinthians in the direction of LOVE. In essence what Paul did was to place all of those gifts under the umbrella of LOVE in order to illustrate the point that none of them meant a thing without that overarching, permeating love.Why? Because everyone can be God’s love in action regardless of his / her abilities, gifts, or talents. And as Paul writes, it (love) is a way of life that is best of all. A way of life, he says; not just an isolated act; not just something that happens once in a while; but rather something that happens as a matter of course. We are filled with Christ (LOVE), so we are filled with love. Being filled with love means that we are able to “effortlessly” love as we move about during our everyday moments. We really don’t have to think too much about it; we just love because that is our nature in Christ.That way of life is described more fully in 1 Corinthians 13. It would do us good to read chapter 13 on a very regular basis until the words found there actually become who we are, so that they become more than words, so that they become descriptors of us, of our way of life—so that we become loving people, people who love God and others SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT’S WHO WE ARE. Let’s determine to pursue the way of life that is best of all. Let’s love. Every moment of every day…for the rest of our lives.Abba Father, thank You for giving us Your love; fill us anew today so that we may give away Your love to others; by Your grace and power, may this become our way of life. Amen.A fellow beggar along the Way,greg