Face To FaithSample

Everyone loves receiving gifts. And considering that giving gifts is one of the five love lan- guages, it’s actually an important thing.

It makes sense, then, that God would partake in this important giving of gifts. Obviously and ultimately, the best gift that God has ever given us is Himself through the death of Christ Jesus on the cross. However, God’s generous nature did not stop giving gifts after He gave us His best. He continues to give us gifts through His Holy Spirit.

There are quite a few gifts the Holy Spirit gives us—administration, prophecy, miracles, healing, helps, mercy, and more—but before we say anything else about these amazing gifts, we should ask one vital question: What’s the point?

We need to understand the purpose of the gifts God gives us, and our verse today explains it for us. “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts.”

Look at that verse and tell me, what actions are we supposed to take? We are to pursue love—to look for it, cultivate it, practice it, think about it, try it, live it, and give it. But we are only to desire gifts.

This is not to downplay the importance of spiritual gifts, because God wouldn’t give them to us if they were just some extra bonus of salvation. No, in fact they are a vital part of the body of Christ functioning properly. However, the gifts become perverted without love.

You see, the gifts are not about you. They are about the people around you. You might look at it this way—you being gifted doesn’t show how much God loves you, it shows how much He loves the people around you. The gifts are given for the sake of service, to be an expression of His love to one another within the body.

That’s why we pursue love, so that when God gives us the gifts it simply gives us a new way of expressing His love to the people around us.

So pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts. It is more than okay to want them, as Paul actu- ally instructs us to desire them. However, they are still gifts. Put them on your wish list before God, then do your part and pursue love so you’ll know what to do when God gives you your desired gifts.

Prayer
Father God,
Thank You that You give good gifts to Your children! I don’t always know what to think about spiritual gifts, but You say they are a good thing, so I desire them. And I pursue love so that I will know what to do when You give me Your gifts.
Amen