Missing Ingredient

I went to a little Christmas gathering in one of the ladies homes one year. The same ladies would attend every year, and they brought the same dishes. I am not complaining because I look forward to these foods every year.

One particular year though something amusing happened. We had enjoyed our luncheon of the delicious varieties of foods. I was saving the best for last! That is the dessert of course! In my opinion you don't waste calories on dessert unless it's chocolate, or maybe pumpkin. So, I was so happy that someone brought a pumpkin pie. Well, I bit into it and whoa, it didn't taste like a normal pumpkin pie. I didn't say anything. I waited for the lady that brought it to taste it. I studied her face to see her reaction. She got a horrified look on her face, and she said, " Oh my, I believe I left out an important ingredient!" She pinpointed, and we all agreed that it was the sugar. When you are making a dessert that is an important ingredient, I would say it is an essential ingredient!

In Scripture God tells us in I Corinthians 13: 1-3 " If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

All of these things listed are important things. You can preach, and if you don't love, it means nothing! You can know the deepest mysteries, and have knowledge of everything, without the missing ingredient, LOVE, it means absolutely nothing! You can even have so much faith, that you could move mountains, but without the missing ingredient, LOVE, this too, means nothing! Finally, you can even give up your life, but if you don't have the missing ingredient, (say it together) LOVE, this act is worthless, it means absolutely nothing!!

While we are nearing Valentines Day, our hearts start to focus more on thoughts of LOVE. This year may we reflect on whether we are truly loving our Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. If we are loving our families like we should. If we are loving the people around us. The challenge is to love the unlovely, the down and out, the people that miss treat us, that may persecute us. How are we doing with that? That's a little more challenging isn't it?

This year, even past the official day of love, let's not leave out that most important, and most desired ingredient, LOVE!!