1 Corinthians 13 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Way of Love
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
REFLECTION
- Read the whole chapter a couple of times slowly.
- In this chapter, Paul not only defines love but shows us why this is the most excellent way to relate to anyone—especially to members of the family of God.
- True spirituality has nothing to do with one’s gifts, training, or performing skills. The truly spiritual person is the individual whose attitude and actions express love.
- Read this passage slowly and meditatively. Allow the words to sink in and compare each phrase to your own understanding and action of love.
- Copy verses 4-8a on a card, memorize it, or bring it out to review often. Examine your own attitude and actions often to see if there is any love expressed.