Daily Devotional | Promoting Healing

Caring for elderly parents can provide incredible blessings but also poses significant challenges. As my 81-year-old father lay in a cancer center for two weeks, we shared wonderful and sometimes tearful conversations. During one visit, he gave my brother and I an important request. He asked that we promise to care for our mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We knew that fulfilling our dad’s request would require time, money, and energy, but we were determined to love and serve our father and mother in this way.

As Christ-followers, we are called to love one another as Jesus loved us. We have seen how He did so in a way that not only addressed people’s spiritual needs but also their physical and emotional ones. Showing love in this way may require great sacrifice on our part. First Corinthians 13 describes a way of living and loving that goes contrary to our natural inclination to think primarily of ourselves. Paul goes into detail with a list of what Christlike love requires: “Love is patient, love is kind” (v. 4), “it is not self-seeking” (v 5). This love, agape in the Greek, is displayed in God’s unconditional, sacrificing actions toward us. He gave His one and only Son for our salvation (John 3:16), the ultimate example of healing.

This love, defined for us in 1 Corinthians 13, is sacrificial and, at times, costly. Living out 1 Corinthians 13 may come with a cost—perhaps a significant sacrifice of our time, money, or personal desires—but the healing that can result can literally be the difference between life and death. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (v. 13).

>> As you read 1 Corinthians 13, list the actions and attitudes God uses to describe love. Which of these tend to be more difficult for you in loving someone? Why? Consider studying each action and attitude through a word study. Ask God to reveal to you how He wants you to respond.

Pray with Us

As we ponder the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13, we thank Jesus that these are also His attributes. He poured out this love on us. We ask for the courage to share Christ’s love with others.

BY Mary Martin, Former Professor of Christian School Education

Dr. Mary Martin previously served at Moody as program head of Christian School Education and chair of the Education and Counseling division. She has also served as a classroom teacher, principal, and head of school. Mary is the author of Impacting Student Learning through Christ-Centered Instructional Leadership and currently resides in North Carolina with her husband, Michael. She speaks at numerous education conferences each year and loves mentoring Moody graduates.