God is Love

By Belinda


Yesterday morning I retreated to the solitude of our north deck and sat in the steamy heat of Saturday, reading, reflecting, and hanging out with God for a few minutes before starting my busy day in earnest. 


Just as I was putting my books away I had this thought about a passage I wasn't even reading: 1 Corinthians 13--commonly known as "the love chapter," and often read at weddings.


Since, according to 1 John 4:8,  God is love, I wondered how the passage would read if I substituted "God" for "love" all the way through. I reopened my Bible and read it like that and it was cool to see a "quality" personified. So here it is with the word "love" replaced by God--just for today.

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version (NIV)
13 If I speak in the tongues[a](A) of men or of angels, but do not have God, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy(B) and can fathom all mysteries(C) and all knowledge,(D) and if I have a faith(E) that can move mountains,(F) but do not have God, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor(G) and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b](H) but do not have God, I gain nothing.4 God is patient,(I) God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud.(J) 5 He does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking,(K) He is not easily angered,(L)  He keeps no record of wrongs.(M) 6 God does not delight in evil(N) but rejoices with the truth.(O) 7  He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.(P)8  God never fails. But where there are prophecies,(Q) they will cease; where there are tongues,(R) they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part(S) and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes,(T) what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood(U) behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;(V) then we shall see face to face.(W) Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.(X)13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and God.(Y) But the greatest of these is God.(Z)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Love it - what a nice reflection.
3:35 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movies

A few nights ago, I touched on our conversation over dinner at cell group--a continuation of one we'd started the week before about our favourite movies. Sam had led an icebreaker where we had shared our favourites and it was surprising, funny and revealing to hear what they were. Here are some of them: Ron-- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Richard-- The Godfather Brenda-- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Susan-- The Miracle Worker and Chariots of Fire Paul's were A Christmas Carol and Groundhog Day , and mine were: The Colour Purple and What About Bob All week though, I kept thinking--what was it about those particular movies that spoke to people--and that's what we discussed over dinner on Tuesday. It was as much fun finding out why people loved them as finding out what they were. We laughed loudly as Ron recounted some of the scenes in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as they traveled back in time and collected historical figures for their history a
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c
Read more