The Beacon

The Beacon

Good People of St. John’s United Church of Christ,

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. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,  but do not have love, I gain nothing.

It was so good to share the Message on Sunday with KB.  Looking closely at 1 Corinthians 13 and just the first verses has been an eye-opener for me, and I hope for you too.  I am really asking myself as I move through the days with each decision, “What is my motive in ‘this’? Is it Love?”  If not, I set it down and begin again to bring forth what Love is asking of me here.I hope I can encourage you to do the same as we journey through February, the Love month.  (Yet, you and I know that every month is a Love month.)  In this passage, the Apostle Paul calls us to recognize what our motives are.  Rather than being ‘recognized’ or needing to believe we are special, we are expected to be recognized for loving well. Love shows up in the choices we make not to be corrective toward others, not to judge others, but allow them to be who they are treat them in love because God has called them His own.  We are here to respond with our lives to being the Image of God, Himself.  It’s a response that makes us go deeper…most often we are living in the shallow.  Go deeper, friends.  Pause and respond in Love—it is the God within you that is expected to show forth.  

Do you have the courage to make the world a more loving place according to the principles of 1 Corinthians 13?  The Love of 1 Corinthians 13 is a Love not of this world, but is a Love that is accessible with a deep and intimate relationship with God.

Love, Pastor Judine