Together in Christ: 'These Last Forever' — 1 Corinthians 13:13

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love.

— 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

Key Thought

Few things we pursue in life last forever. The things of this world won't last. They will dissolve, decay, disintegrate, or die. They are temporary.

Where can we invest our treasure and our time and effort to produce eternal gains?

Where do our hearts find their reward and greatest joy? How do we touch eternity as mere mortals? Certainly not with the temporal trinkets that many of us spend our lives to acquire.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that three things last forever: "faith, hope, and love." The greatest of these, the most lasting of the three, is love. What we do to share God's love [1] with others lasts forever. What we do to love God is everlasting.

This truth about love's enduring power is glorious to experience but not necessarily easy to practice. Loving our enemies, our persecutors, our brothers and sisters who have wronged us, is difficult. [2] Thankfully, we have the Spirit of God living within us to empower us to love. [3] As we love each other, even when it's incredibly challenging, the Spirit helps us invest in what is eternal. After all, "three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love." I don't know about you, but I want these eternal qualities to be my life's most treasured investments!

[1] 1 John 4:7-8, 16-17.
[2] Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about loving those who abuse us and praying for those who despitefully misuse us, and repeatedly forgiving those who sin against us is hard — Matthew 5:21-26, 38-48, 6:14-15; 18:21-35 — so hard that we cannot do these things without God's power enabling us!
[3] Romans 5:5; Ephesians 3:14-21.

Today's Prayer

Loving God, please use the Holy Spirit to teach me how to love others as You do. I want to invest my life in others who will share eternity with You, as I trust I will. Thank You for this powerful hope. Help me to make the future love we will share become real now. In Jesus' name, I ask for this wisdom and grace. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
  • John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:16-18, 4:7-12

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Illustration

Illustration of 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT — Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love.

About This Devotional

Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.

'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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