Daily Devotion 18 November 2025

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 13

READING: 1 Corinthians 13: 13

I have a friend whose joy it is to cook. And she loves to share. Whenever someone is sick,  or celebrating a special event, or saddened by bad news, she turns up on their doorstep, with a fruit loaf, or casserole or tin of muffins. She doesn’t say much, or stay, and she doesn’t ask any questions, but she leaves behind, somehow, not only food, but a feeling of burdens and sorrows shared or joys multiplied.

Of course, many non-Christians are wonderfully generous and loving, and are good cooks too! So what is the difference between what they do and the kind of love to which God calls His children?

It is demonstrated through Jesus Christ, the Author of true love. In essence, it is the absence of self. No judging. No self-righteousness. No boosting of self-esteem. Only a proactive extension of the grace that flows to us from our Father’s heart.

It is the kind of love that takes us beyond simply sending a quick EFT donation, or cooking a casserole. It is the love that takes us to entering into another’s place of pain with them and embracing them just as they are. Even as Christ comforted the tax collector, protected the prostitute, and healed the hurts of the world’s most lowly, as well as those of high status, we, too, reveal our Creator’s compassion when we leave our comfort zones behind us and engage in real relationships with those in the world around us, that reconnect them with Your hope and joy.

Prayer

Father God, when I see how You define love, it becomes painfully obvious to me that apart from You I am incapable of the kind of love You want from me. But I praise You because You want to love others through me. Jesus, I need You to empty me of myself, so that Your Spirit can fill me and lead me to a life of love for others that mirrors Your love for me. In Jesus name and for His sake, Amen