Title: This is love?/Topic: Love

Today’s Reading: Judges 9; Judges 10; Psalm 49; 1 Corinthians 16

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:14, 22
14 Do everything in love.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord!

Observation: These two verses seem incongruent to me. We are told to do everything in love, and then, just a few verses later, Paul pronounces a curse on everyone who does not love the Lord. This is love? It certainly does not fit into my paradigm of what love is. How am I to synthesize these two statements? Paul is writing to a church. These people are already supposed to know the Lord. Perhaps he is saying that anyone who has known the Lord but whose love has grown cold is under a curse because he has left his first love and also because his witness to the world is poor at best. That idea would seem to be congruent with Rev. 3:16 where God says he will spit out of his mouth anyone who is lukewarm in his love toward God. But this may just be mental gymnastics on my part to make sense of these two scriptures.

Application: Questions like these are essential to my growing in wisdom and understanding of God. I have to be willing to struggle and wrestle with scripture in order to get a fuller picture of God, myself and my world. I also have to be okay with not knowing everything right now. I can have questions and still have a deep faith and trust in God. I don't have to have all the answers to still believe that the Word of God is true. As I grow in my understanding, many of my questions will be resolved. The rest will have to wait until I am with the Lord in heaven.

Prayer: Father, give me wisdom and insight into these verses. I really don't understand them very well. I want to follow you closely and do what is right. Thank you for allowing us to have questions. I trust you to bring me along in understanding your Word fully.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.