1 Corinthians 14: 1-3 Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy. For if your gift is the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking to God but not to people, since they won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them. I’ve found that the gift of speaking in tongues is either greatly sought after or greatly despised. To some degree, it seems much more common than the gift of prophecy. I’ve only known a handful of prophets, but I’ve met many people who speak in tongues. The verses make an interesting distinction between the two gifts. Speaking in tongues is speaking to God, but it doesn’t necessarily edify or help others in the church. But prophecy can be helpful, encouraging, and comforting. This is very true. I have a dear friend who has the gift of prophecy, and her words have encouraged me countless times when I was struggling and frustrated. In a sense it’s a little confusing sometimes, if the prophecy comes in the form of a vision, but it’s also very soothing to be reminded in a physical sense that God’s it worked out. I think the gift of prophecy would be an amazing gift to have, but I’d imagine a prophet would need lots of courage. I tend to think of prophecy as always encouraging, but I’m sure there are times when God sends a message that is less welcome to the recipient. That would be a bit scary to deliver. Think back to some of the prophets in the Bible, like Elijah and Elisha. Boy, people were so happy about their messages that they almost got killed on a regular basis! Thankfully, I don’t think the dangers are quite so extreme today, but it could still be an act of faith to speak a message that is not wanted. But, to those of us who don’t have these amazing gifts, like prophecy, there is love. And Paul says that this is greater than any gift. Yeah for us! Love is something everyone can do and everyone has access to. It’s not something that we have to be given (although God pours it on us continually) and it’s something that we can easily do for others (small acts of love and kindness aren’t that difficult). So, while I think it would be amazing to be able to prophecy, Paul says that my highest goal should be to love others. And that’s something I can do today with the people I have around me… starting with my classroom full of students.