love one another – Page 2

1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 – Give Glory to God

What if I had titled this reflection, “Be a People Pleaser” instead? After all, Paul does say, “I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do.” Taking that sentence out of context could easily lead us off course. Take careful note of Paul’s motivation. “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” and “I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.”

Paul’s discussion is still dealing with the idea of eating food used in worship of idols. This seems to be a very serious dispute for the first audience. I’m still grappling with what kind of food that could mean for us today.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 💜 Be Loveable and Love Others

Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:`13 - But the Great of these is love. Surrounded by a heart of words that say: Hope, Love, Faith over and over

Known as the “love chapter,” we see here how God desires us to live. That has been our focus over the past week. What a powerful passage to bring this theme to a conclusion. We know we are to love God and love others. But what is love? These verses beautifully showcase what love is as well as what it is not.

Paul uses actions words to describe love; it’s patient and kind. Love is not merely a feeling at all. When we love someone else, we exhibit patience and kindness towards them. If you struggle at times, it might help to think about the patience and kindness God has extended to you. It’s hard to say we love someone if we’re mean to them. Our love will be tested by circumstance, but even in the hard times love will prevail in the ways described here.

Day 4 🌲 O Holy Night

On the first day of Christmas, we looked at my husband David’s favorite Christmas carol. What’s your favorite? Hopefully it will be one of the next ones during our 12 Days of Christmas. Today’s song is my favorite and are these words ever powerful!

O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 – Pleasing God

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

person bowing on their knees with prayer hands against a sunset

We’ve all heard how it important it is to love God and love each other. If we get those two things right, many of the other things we’ll face in life will simply fall into place. That’s not to say life will be “easy,” but it does mean we’ll enjoy life more fully when we can learn what it means to love with Christian love.

Again, Paul seems extremely impressed with the Thessalonians and how these young Christians are getting it right. “We urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.” Paul uses some examples that these Gentiles would understand when he speaks of sexual sin. Adultery and other sexual freedoms would have been common among the Gentiles (pagans or new believers) of that day. Certainly, this is behavior that doesn’t please God.