Day 3 - Love First: Giving the Gift of Vision

Love First: Giving the Gift of Vision

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (The Message)

Love is the best gift. Love helps us see beyond the moment and into possibilities. Love makes us feel valuable and honored. We have a wonderful day we dedicate to our “Valentines.” Gifts given to us in love last forever—oh, maybe not the gift itself…but the moment lasts, the feeling lasts, and the message stays with us.

Many of us have loved ones, and we can remember the first time they told us they loved us or we told them we loved them. The future looked so dazzling. We felt that we could soar the heights and do anything because our love was so strong. What an incredible feeling! While that has lasted longer for some than others, it’s still true for the moment. God’s moment is forever. In our mutual love, we can do so much!

What if God gave you a gift—the gift of vision? What if God showed you exactly what he wanted you to do for him and for his kingdom? What if there was no guess work involved—it was spelled out plainly? Wouldn't that be the best gift ever? And what if he told you the perfect gift to give to others every single time? Wouldn't that be awesome?

Well, God has given us that gift. It is summed up like this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And he says it over and over in lots of different ways. Love is the answer God has been trying to give us. Love Him. Love Others.

Is God’s love more than you want? Of course not. Is it more than you want to give to someone else? That’s the real question. We can lay out missions and visions and goals, but without love they are likely to fail. The answer is Love First.

Your Mission
What are you stingy with? Is it your time, your love, your money? Something else? Be honest. Ask God to help you keep it from coming between you and him.