The Best Life of All!

“But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.”
1 Corinthians 12:31 (NLT)  

Are you living your best life now?  In 1 Corinthians 12:31 (NLT), the apostle Paul wrote to Christ-followers in Corinth with a challenge to show them “a way of life that is best of all.” Don’t just settle for a good life when you can experience an even a better life, the Bible describes as the best life of all. One translation calls it “the most excellent way” to live life.   

It’s interesting to me that when he wrote this letter, he was writing to a conflicted church. They weren’t even experiencing a good life, much less their best life. Maybe you can relate during this holiday season. Divisions and disagreements were disrupting their fellowship. Some were projecting superior attitudes as more spiritual than others because of their spiritual gifts or unique roles in the church. It was obvious that they were missing the most excellent way that God intended for them to experience.

So, in the middle of his teaching regarding the gifts of the Spirit, Paul makes a profound statement about a way of life that is best of all. It would trump the greatest gifts anyone had or could give, or the greatest service anyone may offer. It’s what they needed if they were to thrive, and what we need desperately today if we are to really live our best life!

Paul dedicates the entire thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians to it. It is love - the kind of love that God has lavished on us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read this description of love, you get why Paul called it the most excellent way to live our lives. One commentator put it like this, “Great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, and miracle-working power have little effect without love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone.”

Read and reflect on 1 Corinthians 13 today and ask God to fill you with His love that you may experience your best life now!