The Daily Devotional at The Upper Room in Nashiville, Tennessee, United States - "The Ice Cream Man" for Wednesday, May 17th, 2017 - Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

The Daily Devotional at The Upper Room in Nashiville, Tennessee, United States - "The Ice Cream Man" for Wednesday, May 17th, 2017 - Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1 Corinthians 13:1 I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels;
but if I lack love, I have become merely
blaring brass or a cymbal clanging.
2 I may have the gift of prophecy,
I may fathom all mysteries, know all things,
have all faith — enough to move mountains;
but if I lack love, I am nothing.
3 I may give away everything that I own,
I may even hand over my body to be burned;
but if I lack love, I gain nothing.
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.
9 For our knowledge is partial, and our prophecy partial;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
thought like a child, argued like a child;
now that I have become a man,
I have finished with childish ways.
12 For now we see obscurely in a mirror,
but then it will be face to face.
Now I know partly; then I will know fully,
just as God has fully known me.
13 But for now, three things last —
trust, hope, love;
and the greatest of these is love.

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Paul wrote, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”[1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)]When I was around six or seven the ice cream man would come in his white truck with the chimes ringing out — a signal for the children to come with their nickels and dimes to buy ice cream. I would hang back because there were no nickels and dimes to be had at my house. One day the ice cream man called me over and asked if that was my garden in our yard. I said yes, and then he told me that he loved carrots — and that if I would bring him some from our garden, he would give me ice cream. So I ran to the garden, pulled some carrots, and went back to collect my ice cream. We continued the carrots-for-ice cream exchange for a good while.
It was only later in my life that I realized what grace the ice cream man had shown me. He didn’t make me feel like I was taking a handout or that I was to be pitied. He treated me with dignity in front of my friends. Without my knowing it, he was showing me a love like God’s.
Simple acts of mercy can help someone get through a tough day or even a tough childhood. I have never forgotten the ice cream man’s gift to me. When we act with love toward others, we echo Paul’s words, “the greatest of these is love.”The Author: Grace Epperson (Michigan, USA)
Thought for the Day: Compassionate acts demonstrate God’s love.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for the people who have shown us your love. Help us to be the hands and feet of Christ to those who need us. Amen.
Prayer focus: Children without enough to eat
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