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Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12
I think one of the most shocking things about my illness was what we didn’t know!
The fatigue, the pain I mistook for muscle pain, the spot on my chest were caused by something laying beneath the skin.
Had I seen the whole picture, I would’ve responded differently. But as with a lot of other things in life, I simply didn’t have all the information.
1 Corinthians 13:12 concludes a portion of Paul’s letter dealing with love. We often call it “the love chapter” and portions of it are used in virtually every wedding ceremony.
The love spoken of here isn’t just between husband and wife. This love is to be for all people. Especially those belonging to the body of Jesus.
Paul doesn’t call us to understand. Paul doesn’t challenge us to get all the information before we respond to people and situations. Knowledge and wisdom will never be as powerful as love.
Don’t ever let yourself think you see the whole picture. You don’t. Only God does. Love isn’t based on what we know but on who we know. Through the work of Jesus on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit within us God will reveal what you need to know in order for you to do what He’s called you to do, love.
Love one another patiently. Love one another when you don’t understand or agree. Love one another when you’ve been hurt. Love one another even when you can’t trust.
Someday we’ll understand, but today? Love one another!
“The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
I read a story awhile back about a couple who were hiking in the mountains. As they were walking through a beautiful mountain meadow a storm suddenly erupted.
The thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the mountain. Lighting crashed around them. In the midst of an unexpected storm they were vulnerable, scared, and helpless.
Then the rain and hail came. There was no place to run to. No place to take shelter. Then one of them noticed in the distance, a cave. More like a indentation in the rocks. But it offered them shelter in the storm. They ran to the spot and waited out the storm in the safety of the rock.
The Bible tells us that God is our shelter in the midst of a storm. When the enemies of worry, doubt, broken, relationships, or consequences from bad decisions attack us, He is the shelter that we can run to.
Three things I notice about this verse. First of all the shelter doesn’t take us out of the storm, it simply gives us protection during the storms.
The second thing is that we as believers in Jesus need to run to the shelter. We are not automatically protected unless we run to the shelter.
The third thing I notice, is that there is no particular place to run to. We don’t run to a place, we run to a name.
You can carry a name with you everywhere. It’s a shelter you have with you during every storm, you encounter.
Run to the shelter of the name of the Lord. He won’t take you out of the storm, but he will carry you through it.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 