December 5 – 1 Corinthians 13

December 5 – 1 Corinthians 13

Jesus, our Savior King, we praise You for You are Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!!!! We thank You for You secure our peace! We fall before You in worship and adoration. Draw near to us, Lord of all.

An odd passage, this, for the week of hope; it really would tuck in all cozy into the week of love. But for today, this small word ‘hope,’ which only appears twice in our reading, we will hold onto this wee word for what it is: a promise. Compare this to ‘love’ – mentioned as the greatest – which is mentioned eight times. Love always was, always is, and always will be. Hope… that’s for our sake. By grace we have hope. Hope’s arrival on that otherwise uneventful day was for our sake. For our spiritual groaning and labor pains, Hope was sent to promise us a future in Him.

Authentic love hopes all things. This hope is not just hope in the future but also that all will be well and according to His good will. This doesn’t mean that we won’t get singed by the fire we are walking through or that we can go through it unscathed. Not at all, but it is the hope that God’s will will be revealed to us in time and that His will is being done. That confidence in Him that He will be right there with us, never to go it alone. This goes far beyond the superficial wishful thinking, “I hope there is an empty parking space at the grocery store”! The hope we have in Jesus is deeply seeded, one that we cling to and know with every Spirit filled fiber of our body to be true and fulfilling in time. We hope in all of the things of Jesus, not just some. Thishope calms and comforts our yearning for Him and the restoration He promises.
Christmas is more than just presents, warm feelings, family time, and carols. It is about the miraculous blessing of hope, the promise that Jesus will rescue us, never to be taken, never to be forgotten, never to be stolen. Hope that is expectant and trustful in the Lord will bring you
comfort. What a blessing, the grace covering of hope!

“To us a child of hope is born,
to us a son is giv’n.
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
him all the hosts of heav’n,
him shall the tribes of earth obey,
him all the hosts of heav’n.”
“To Us a Child of Hope is Born”

My Verse: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:17

My Response: Oh, long awaited Savior!!! I praise You for You are always on time. Like our spiritual ancestors who waited for Your first coming, I await Your second coming! I wait with confident and expectant hope! You are my Saviour. You hold my heart, and in You, I put my life.

Further Reading: 1 Timothy 4:6-16; John 5:30-47

What’s next?
As the Spirit leads, share what He has laid on your heart in the comment section below. Then join us again tomorrow for the next commentary.