The Bounty of God’s Love

 

  

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² 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. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ 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. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, 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 behind me. ¹² 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.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

- Genesis 2:15 (NIV)





 

This spring I planted sweet potatoes. The green and purple vines grew all over the garden.
 Twice I cut them back. Still they grew and grew. I watered the garden every day during the hot summer months.

Then one day this fall the water washed away the soil and I found a golden red potato. What excitement I felt! I ran for the shovel and dug up the whole row. A four-foot span yielded 10 pounds of potatoes. Those potatoes made wonderful baked goods for my family, friends, and neighbors. Weeks later, I dug up another row in the garden and discovered more sweet potatoes! The vines had set roots that made potatoes all over the garden. Under the squash, the tomatoes, and the eggplant, potatoes grew.

 God’s bounty is amazing. If we tend God’s gifts and let them grow, they can produce more than we ever could imagine. A garden is one illustration of how we walk in faith, hope, and love. We plant seeds of faith; we tend the garden with hope; we share the fruits with love. Then God multiplies the bounty for all who receive it.

 

 

The Author Suzanne Dixson Thomas (Georgia, USA) from The Upper Room

Thought for the Day

Prayer

O God, your works are amazing. We want to be a part of all you are doing to care for the people of your world. Help us. Amen.