OUR DAILY BREAD             Sat., March 4, 1995
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READ:  1 Corinthians 13


             THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

      "Though I have all faith  ...but have not
               love, I am nothing."

                                - 1 Corinthians 13:2


A third-grade science teacher asked one of her students
to describe salt.  "Well, um, it's...," he started,
then stopped.  He tried again.  "Salt is, you know,
it's...."  Finally he said, "Salt is what makes French
fries taste bad when you don't sprinkle it on."  Many
foods are like that -- incomplete without a key
ingredient.  Imagine pizza without cheese, strudel
without apples, a banana split without bananas.

The Christian life also has an essential element: love.
Paul emphasized its value as he wrote his letter to the
Corinthians.  Right in the middle of a section about
spiritual gifts, he paused to say that even if we have
gifts of service, speech, and self-sacrifice but don't
have love, we are nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3).  We've
missed the "more excellent way" (12:31).  A follower
of Jesus should love his family, his friends, his
fellow believers, those who don't know Christ, and
even his enemies (Lk. 6:27-31).  A true Christian is
known by his love.

Doctrinal purity is important.  Faith is a magnificent
quality, as are actions of obedient service to the Lord.
But without love, we're about as bland as French fries
without salt.

Ask God to help you grow in love until it flows from
your heart to others.  That's the essential ingredient.

                                --  David C. Egner


        Lord, grant me a loving heart,
           A will to give and share,
        A whispered prayer upon my lips
             To show I really care.

                                -- Brandt


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           THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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      As Christ's love grows in us
       His love flows through us.

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THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Joshua 16-18
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Our Daily Bread,  Copyright 1995,  used by  permission  of Radio Bible
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