Tuesday
Let love be your highest goal! Vs 1
What a great night we had last night for our VBS program (104 kids), I am so excited about the love the teachers and the leaders have for our children and so you can see why I am so amazed that this is the scripture we are on for today – Love is our highest goal!. Paul has returned to the subject of spiritual gifts. Prophecy and speaking in tongues. Apparently, speaking in tongues had become a problem for the Corinthian Church. Their priorities are not in balance and so Paul is trying to set them straight. What Paul is talking about is a proper order between the mind and spirit in worship.
Two forms of communication that are a gift of the Spirit have presented themselves during worship; prophecy and speaking in tongues. Prophecy comes from the mind or heart of the speaker for the good of the entire group. Speaking in tongues is a more emotional communication with God and is only for the benefit of the person who is speaking in tongues. (Unless of course there is an interpreter present, but without one, no one else benefits from this form of communication.)
So the point in all that Paul is saying is that prophesying – or sharing the message that God gives you to share is far more important than speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is an important private and intimate experience with God, something that is helpful to the individual but has little meaning to the rest of the church, unless it is interpreted.
Paul is not saying that speaking in tongues has no value, he even declares that he speaks in tongues, what he is trying to say is that worship should be about corporate learning and sharing. That is why a church’s worship service should be about speaking the truth for all to hear; praying and singing; reading scripture and praising in a group setting. A setting that invites others to join in and be a part of what is happening.
Grace and Peace
Pastor Kathy