Sunday, 19 May
Caitlin from Fire & Fragrance
The Priority of Love
“Wherever the Holy Ghost has right of way, the gifts of the Spirit will be in manifestation; and where these gifts are never in manifestation, I question whether He is present.”
Smith Wigglesworth emphasised the importance of the Holy Spirit’s presence and manifestation of spiritual gifts. However, Paul teaches us that there is something even greater than the most spectacular miracles: love.
Love: The More Excellent Way
Paul addresses the Corinthian church, correcting their immature understanding of spirituality.
They valued spectacular spiritual gifts but neglected the essential foundation of love.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'"
Matthew 22:37-39
The Bible calls for a sacrificial love
The Bible instructs us to love God and our neighbours with a sacrificial love that goes beyond ourselves. This love is patient, kind, and enduring, even in the face of challenges.
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
1 John 4:7-21
The True Value of Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts should be exercised with love and selflessness. The true value lies not in their display but in the love with which they are used.
As Smith Wigglesworth said,
“The true value of spiritual gifts lies not in their display or in the recognition they bring, but in the love and selflessness with which they are exercised.”
A Life Driven by Love
Love should be the driving force behind our actions, surpassing even the greatest spiritual gifts.
Let us strive to be known for our work of faith, labour of love, and steadfastness of hope.
"We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
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