Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, buy cialis especially the gift of prophecy.

Thought for the Day: Prophecy in the Bible is not fortune telling. In our modern era, generic we think of prophecy as a supernatural gift that allows some people to sort of, “see the future.” But, when Paul wrote this letter, prophets were what we would consider pundits or social commentators. He’s talking about people like Isaiah or Amos, who looked around their society and the world, and made proclamations about what was going to happen if people kept acting badly, kept turning their backs on God.

Following Jesus’ teachings, Paul reminds the church in Corinth that a loving life creates a new reality. By rejecting the warlike, selfish ways of the world and concentrating on our spiritual connection to God, we become filled with the deep love for humanity and God’s creation that was present in Jesus Christ. This changes our outlook, and moves us to act contrary to the ways of the world, especially the selfish motivations of empires, whether Roman in Paul’s time, or the empire of corporate greed in ours.

The world can be a harsh place, and sometimes one unfortunate event after another seems to be piled on us. When we can’t breathe because we’re buried under a pile of stress, when we lose our will to fight for justice because we keep hitting one unjust roadblock after another, Paul reminds us to stop and let the love of Christ fill our souls, because it’s in God’s deep, eternal, and gracious love that we find hope, and the strength to persevere for the good, against all odds.

Prayer: God of justice, give me the strength to carry on in love. Amen.