Love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 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 behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13

If you skimmed that passage, please consider going back and reading it through. (Emphasis my own).

Father, you know our hearts. You know our thoughts before we speak them. You see the things we struggle with you. You see our justifications and hidden motives. None of it is a surprise to you. The surprise for us is you meet it with your perfect love. Please meet each of us in our place of need. For those who are curious, give wisdom. For those who are hurt, give comfort. For those who are angry, bring peace. For those who are apathetic, allow what breaks your heart to break theirs. There’s a lot of noise, I’m sure it’s beginning to sound like a resounding gong. 

Lord, help us to lean in, withdraw, be still and seek you. All in the right season and in the perfect timing. We trust you. Thanks for teaching us how to love; it’s the only thing that can truly “cure” all. Show us how to love better. 

With love,

Ash