1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (NRSV)
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Verse 8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. Verse 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; Verse 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. Verse 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. Verse 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. Verse 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Devotion
This chapter begins with the bong of a gong and a clang of a cymbal. It moves on to the dim vision seen in a mirror and the hope of future clarity. But the thread holding sound and sight here is love. It never ends. It defies all human logic and capacity. It sustains us in the midst of all the uncertainties of life. We affirm that Love came down at Christmas and has never let us go. Such a Gift!
Prayer
O Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down, visit us with thy salvation and enter every trembling heart. Amen.