1/16/26

Week 3: The Marks of a Changed Life (Days 16–22)

Day 16 

Love With No Scorecard

Biblical Focus: The Love Chapter

1 Corinthians 13:4–5 (NLT)

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

If you want to know whether you are being transformed, do not start by measuring your Bible knowledge, your prayer life, or your church attendance. Start with love. Paul says in verses 1–3 that you can have spiritual gifts, deep knowledge, mountain-moving faith, and great sacrifice, and without love it is worth nothing.

Today, try a hard exercise. Read verses 4–7 again, but replace the word "love" with your own name. "[Your name] is patient and kind. [Your name] is not jealous or boastful..."

How far did you get before it became untrue?

Notice how ordinary these marks are. Not irritable. Not rude. No record of wrongs. Transformation is not proven by spiritual experiences. It is proven in traffic, at the dinner table, in the checkout line, and in how you respond to the person who hurt you years ago.

Now read the passage one more time and put the name Jesus in place of "love." Every line is perfectly true. This passage is a portrait of Christ. That is what transformation means: that one day, your name will fit there too, because Christ is being formed in you.

The phrase "keeps no record of being wronged" deserves special attention. Many believers have forgiven in word but still keep the file. They can recite exactly what was said, when, and by whom. Love throws away the file.

The Practice of Transformation

Identify the line in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 where your name failed. Choose one person with whom you will practice that quality today, specifically and intentionally.

✦ Reflection ✦

Whose record of wrongs are you still keeping?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are love. Love through me until my name fits where Yours does. Amen.

Transformation is proven in traffic, not in testimony.

Help Choose Our 2027 Devotional

As this year of Wrapped in His Presence comes to a close, we're praying about where the Lord is leading us next, and I'd love your help deciding. There are three possible journeys for 2027:

• 
  Refined: The Refiner's Fire (Malachi 3:2–3)

• 
  Abiding Fruit: From Presence to Overflow (Galatians 5:22–23)

• 
  Wounded to Carry: The Ministry of Comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4)

Please pray over them, then vote here for the one t