The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "LOVE" for Monday, 6 June 2016 with Scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "LOVE" for Monday, 6 June 2016 with Scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful,
5 not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered,
and it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not gloat over other people’s sins
but takes its delight in the truth.
7 Love always bears up, always trusts,
always hopes, always endures.
8 Love never ends; but prophecies will pass,
tongues will cease, knowledge will pass.
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God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.[1 John 4:16 (NRSV)]
At my nephew’s wedding I was asked to read a paraphrase of today’s reading from 1 Corinthians. Even though it was a civil service and God wasn’t mentioned, God was present because love was there.
We as Christians are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. (See Matthew 19:19.) If we can celebrate human love — a love that is dim compared to God’s love — how much more can we celebrate God’s pure love for each and every person we meet?
My nephew’s wedding was a reminder to me of how much God loves everyone. God is calling me to love not only my family but also those around me whom I don’t always find loveable — those I sometimes disparage, those outside my comfort zone, those I find scary. God loves all of us, and we are called to do the same.
The Author: Carol Denereaz (New South Wales, Australia)
Thought for the Day: Whom is God calling me to love today?
Prayer: Dear Father, help us to be reflections of your love. We pray the prayer Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13, KJV).
Prayer focus: MY NON-CHRISTIAN FAMILY AND FRIENDS

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