Love Never Fails….. (1 Corinthians 13:8)
The gavel came down and the divorce was final. My childhood sweetheart, the boy down the street had simply decided he did not want to be married.
I had no say, no voice in the matter, except to go on record that this was not my desire, but the law in this state allowed for abandonment.
This level of rejection, of unloveliness shreds the very fabric of one’s soul. I was deemed worthless, no good and unlovable and I had the papers that said so.
Yet, in the midst of this personal failure, I would come to know fail-proof Love. Love that heard my voice when the courts did not. A revelation of Love that would heal my broken heart, accept me in the midst of ultimate rejection and lead me into a fresh new life.
Love Never Fails….
…is a stunning statement. Yet, it is scripture, it is therefore both true and truth. But THINK about it: Love NEVER Fails! In times of failure, profound or otherwise, the untruths scream, and condemnation conspires to entrap denying truth.
Still, “love never fails”…. today, I light up inside pondering this. I now live in this truth. So what does this never-failing love thing look like?
It Sustains
As things disintegrated in my barely-year-old marriage, I awoke one morning to the radio and a well-known voice boomed out: “Something good is going to happen to you today!” A spark of hope lit. It was Love telling me, “I am here”.
Even as things worsened, I held to that spark; fanning the ember of hope. Though my marriage did not survive, that Love held me close. People came into my life who demonstrated never-failing Love in tangible ways. They were:
- loyal
- ever-present
- constant
- steady
Never-failing love is not based on how we feel from one moment to the next, but first and foremost, it is an act of the will. Real Love’s motive is not what the object of love brings to the table but rather comes from a giving place.
Never Failing Love Is A Person
The notion of love is everywhere this month. In fact, Valentine’s Day products filled the shelves of stores as Christmas decorations departed. My first reaction is “Seriously?”.
Given further thought, I realized: How Appropriate! We just celebrated Christmas, the greatest act of Love in all history: The choice of God the Father to send His Beloved and Only Son, Jesus, as the ultimate demonstration of Love. It seems fitting that a holiday celebrating Love would follow on its heels.
The Way That Love Never Fails
I Corinthians 13 is well-known as the Love chapter. It tells us what Love looks like. I can be taken as a “to do” list, a way one ought to behave to be loving. Of course, that is a valid way to look at it. Yet, to stop with this view is at best, shallow, at worst, a setup for self-condemnation…
The Apostle John states, “God is Love”. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit = Love. When one substitutes (like a mathematical equation) “God” for “love” in the description of love, it reads:
“God is patient and kind; God does not envy or boast; He is not arrogant or rude. God does not insist on His own way; He is not irritable or resentful; He does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. God bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love (God) never ends or fails. …”
Thus, a true view of the character of our Creator God is revealed. Above all, He IS love and sent Jesus to show us what love is like.
Jesus – The Example And Way Maker
So how on earth, can love never fail? The gospels provide a picture of the heart of the Godhead through the earthly ministry of Jesus. “I only do what I see the Father do, I only say what I hear Him say…” – disease, poverty, sickness, performance religion, fear, demons, oppression, even death, just got up and left every time Jesus showed up!
Just as the failure of my first marriage relationship, there are times when we face circumstances that shout the opposite of victory. If you have lived on earth for any time, past defeats and failures pile up, press in, shouting “give up”, “it’s over”.
Yet, as I chose truth, the redemption of this season of failure propelled me into a great career, a wonderful new marriage relationship, and the realization of dreams I didn’t even know I had. In fact, redemption took away fear when the threat of failure raised its head again in other ways:
- job abolishment
- financial mistakes
- aircraft engine failures!
This is not a wish or pipe dream, but truth borne out in relationship with Jesus… Love makes and opens ways. It rearranges things. Love does miracles. Love NEVER fails.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
How will you celebrate Love this year? Give YOUR story a Voice. Share in the comments below and Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!
Really beautiful post, Nancy.
So happy you shared this again. I read it with fresh eyes and didn’t realize you had shared these thoughts before until the end. I would love to read a post about how you and Dr. Dave met! Happy Valentine’s Day, my friend!
Some things are worth saying again! Happy Valent!ines Day