Inscription Page (facing page, verso)
This copy of
The Love God Calls Us To Walking Out 1 Corinthians 13
is given to
[ name ]
by
[ signature ]
[ signature ]
on
[ date ]
For You (recto, facing the inscription)
I do not know your name yet, but the person who handed you this book does. Your name has been written on the page across from this one, and a name has been signed below it. The book is yours. Take that personally. It was meant to be.
You are about to walk through 1 Corinthians 13 — the chapter the world has heard a thousand times at weddings and read carefully almost nowhere else. You are being asked to think about what it actually means. That is rarer than you know. Most people who quote the chapter never do it.
You should know two things before you begin.
The first is that this book is not a substitute for the chapter it walks through. It is a companion. The Word of God is the authority. This book is one believer trying to walk you through what he has seen there, in the hope that you will see more of it than he has. The verses are what matter. The book is borrowed light.
The second is that what is described in this chapter will outlast everything else in your life. The work, the relationships, the seasons that feel enormous — all of them will pass. The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 will not. It is the eternal nature of God Himself, and you have been invited to learn what it looks like — and to begin practicing it now, whatever stage of life you are in.
Take your time. Read it slowly. Argue with it where you need to. Bring it back to the Word and let the Word answer.
And when you have finished it, put it on a shelf and keep it. You may not need it again this year. You may not need it again for ten years. But someday — possibly on a day you cannot yet imagine — you will need it. And it will be there.