When reading the Bible do you ever notice the repetition of a given word in some passages? Often such repetition will give you an insight into the meaning of what is being said. I call such a word an insight word. I make it a practice to look for such words when I read the Bible. Let me illustrate this point before we continue our study in the book of Mark.
While I was a young man I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to South America. While there I studied and then memorized 1 Corinthians 13. I wanted God to fill me with the kind of love described there as I interacted with the people I visited. After returning to Bible School I did a devotional study of 1 Corinthians. When I got to chapter 13 I was tempted to skip it, because of knowing its contents so well. But I remembered what I had told others -- "Always pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you from the portion you are going to read or study."
After praying this prayer I began reading and to my surprise I noticed something I had never seen before -- the pronoun "I" is mentioned eight times in the first three verses. In the next four verses it isn't mentioned even once. A light bulb went on in my mind! The simple conclusion was that when "I" or self is present or obvious in my life the end result will be, "I am nothing; I gain nothing." When "I" or self is surrendered to Christ and not obvious in my life then I will be manifesting the true nature of love, that is, "agape love."
When that happens, Paul says, "Love never fails!" The word "I" was an insight word in this portion, and noticing it helped me better understand the true nature of Christian love.
Look for such insight words as you read and study your Bible.
