(1 Cor. 13:4-8)
I find there are different ways to read the Bible and all of them are helpful. Sometimes I read it like a textbook that gives me instructions about how to live. At other times, I read it like a storybook and let my imagination take me to the times and places it describes. One of my favorite things to do is read the New Testament epistles as love letters directly to me from God.
A really fresh and delightful way to read those love letters and discover new truths from them is to read from other translations. Today every word of 1 Corinthians 13 spoke expressly to my heart when I read it from The Heart of Paul by Ben Campbell Johnson. It said:
Love stays in difficult relationships with kindness… does not play one-upmanship, nor does it react to those who do. Love is not rude or grasping or overly sensitive…it keeps on keeping on. It trusts in God in every situation and expects God to act in all circumstances…. At present our knowledge is still fragmented, but then I shall know reality as fully as God knows me now. Today we experience trust, expectation and love as realities but love is by far the greatest. So above all else, set your desire on love.When I read those words as expressions of love and encouragement written to me by the One who loves me more than words can ever say, it is easy for me to receive them. Yes, they are challenging for me to abide by at times. But I am inspired to do it anyway knowing the One who wrote them did so because He is watching over me and yearns for my good.
He would only ask me to do such seemingly hard things because He knows they will put me on the path to blessing. They will keep me within His reach so that He can cover me always and keep me from harm.
From such a Lover, every such word is sweet!
by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”
