Dear Family at Christ Community,

We will conclude our three-part series on 1 Corinthians 13 this Sunday. In verses 8-13, Paul extols love as the greatest of all the gifts the Lord gives us. The purpose of all God’s other gifts is to help us know that we are already fully known and perfectly loved in Christ (verse 12). God’s perfect love for us means we are set free to walk in the more excellent way one step at a time. We can grow in love for God and neighbor precisely because we are already fully loved by God.

Our worship service will close with singing “For the Bread.” I love how this song refers to the Lord’s Table as “a pledge that You do love us.” Our worn-down hearts need regular nourishment in the truth that we are already fully loved. We have defined love as willingly and humbly giving yourself for someone else’s true good. That is the love story illustrated by the Table. Christ gives us the bread and the cup so we can taste and see that He has already willingly and humbly given His body and blood for our true good on the cross.

As you prepare for the Table this week, take time to consider the ways your heart hungers and thirsts for reassurance that God loves you perfectly in Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you confess the ways you’ve grown weary in walking in love. Above all, ask the Holy Spirit to help you to receive and rest upon Christ alone so you can keep walking in the more excellent way all the way home to the Father!

Yours in Christ,
Matt