1 Corinthians 13:11-13When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD........You really have to love this verse, because, (hopefully for most of us), it brings back fond memories of a much simpler time, when we didn't have to worry about anything-mom & dad would take care of everything. Certainly, Jesus had a great love for children, as He talks about in Matt. 18:2-5. We learn from this a very powerful lesson about what it means to be humble. Little children don't know the meaning of the word "pride", when they need something, they go to mom & dad, & tell them what they need. There was no need to be embarresd about anything.WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH THINGS BEHIND ME......Now this may seem to contradict what we just read about what Jesus said. But in reality, this is NOT to say that we shouldn't approach God in a childlike way, when we need His help; but rather this is an admonition to us, telling us that as we get older, we must take responsibility for our own actions. We can't afford the habit of having someone else take care of our needs. Theis DOESN'T mean, however, that we still shouldn't take a childlike attitude when we DO need to approach God for something that only He can provide! Romans 8:15, finds us running to God crying, "Abba, Father". The times that we SHOULD come before God with in innocence of little children is especially important when we encounter a seemingly impossible situation, or when we need to return to the Father, after having fallen away from Him. These are the times, that we SHOULD approach God as a little child, when God is all that we have left! (This is a lesson that I have learned many times over the past months!)NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION, AS IN A MIRROR, THAN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE...........It certainly seems to me that this is talking about out current standing, as lowly, imperfect beings, who have only the minimum idea of what truley awaits us in Heaven. Certainly, the glory that Heaven is, would compleatly overwhelm us, if we were to see it in our imperfect bodies. But it also offers us a great hope-that we have the knowledge that we indeed WILL see it one day; & more important-that we will see our Lord & Savior, Christ Jesus, face to face! I'm sure that most of us are familiar with the song by the group MERCY ME, (I Can Only Imagine). Well: I think that that song very accuratly describes the meaning of this particular verse.NOW I KNOW IN PART; THAN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN..............What do we know in part? What we need to do in order to be saverd, & what God's qualities are. We DON'T know everything that He has in store for us, or about how much He really DOES love us. But we see that there WILL come a time that we WILL fully know EVERYTHING that there is to know about God, when we DO see Him face to face, when we ARE in our glorified bodies, after we die. And we see the great truth about God Himself, in the words-"fully Known", because God DOES fully know everything about us. There is NOTHING that is hidden from Him that He doesn't know!AND NOW THESE THREE THINGS REMAIN: FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE, BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE............Interesting how only ONE of these 3 qualities is eternal. Faith: Well, it was faith that first brought us to Christ, & faith that has kept us following Him all this time. But we won't NEED faith, when we die, because our faith is what has brought us INTO His presence!Hope: Well, as Believers, we HAVE that blessed hope in us: Check out Romans 5:2, Romans 8:25, among others. The hope that one day we WILL live in Heaven, & be in the presence of our Savior! It is this hope that keeps us going here on earth! But we will no longer NEED hope, because we have REACHED our hope, when we die, & meet our Savior!But love: God loved us since before the world began. God loved us enough to have His Son, Jesus, die on the cross for our sins. God loved us enough, to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, that we may love others. AND: when we die, & come into His presence, He will STILL love us, throughout all eternity!We see here that only love, is eternal! The one single quality of our Lord & Savior, Christ Jesus, that will never end! Let us pray."Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, & Holy Spirit: We praise & worship You for love. We stand in awe of the love that You had for us before the world even began, the love that brought us to You through our Savior's death & ressurection, the love that we continue to know throuigh Your Holy Spirit, & the love that You & You alone will CONTINUE to have for us, when we finally enter Your Presence after death. We humble ourselves before You, that You DO love us like You do. We can't totally begin to understand it, as we DO see but a poor reflection of Your love, but it is this hope that keeps us driving to that very same goal, that Your servant Paul mentioned-the hope of being in the very presence of Your love one day. We praise You three-in-one! We glorify Your name through all the world for Your unfailing love! Lead us each & every day, to walk in that unfailing love that first lead us to You, that we may show others that same love, while we still have time! Shower us with Your love, Lord Jesus, that we may NEVER stray from Your presence, that we would ALWAYS walk in Your Way, & Your Way alone, & that Your name would be glorified in EVERYTHING that we say & do! We ask this in Your Name & Your Name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen"Bill :study: