#93 LOVE NEVER FAILS 9-6-26
There are many things in this world that look permanent, but nothing earthly lasts forever. The things that excite people today will eventually be forgotten. Popularity fades. Possessions disappear. Achievements become memories. Human applause grows quiet. Even spiritual gifts were given for a season and would one day cease. Paul reminds us that there are things which remain, but there is one virtue that outlives them all. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).
We spend so much of our lives trying to leave a mark on this world. We want to accomplish something. We want to be remembered. We want our lives to matter. God tells us that what is done in love has a significance far greater than anything accomplished for human recognition. A sermon may be forgotten. A song may no longer be heard. A possession may eventually belong to someone else. But a word spoken in love, a kindness shown in Jesus’ name, a burden carried for another, or a soul encouraged when it was ready to give up may reach farther than we will ever know.
The love of God is not merely something for us to admire. It is something God wants to pour through us. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. God does not simply say, “Go love everybody.” He gives us His love so that we can love with a love greater than our natural ability. We cannot manufacture divine love by human determination. We must receive it from God and allow it to overflow through our lives.
That changes the way we treat people. We do not love only those who love us. We do not love only those who deserve it. We do not love only when it is convenient. The love of Christ teaches us to love the difficult person, forgive the person who wounded us, encourage the person who is discouraged, and show kindness to the person who cannot give anything back. Sometimes the greatest evidence that Christ lives in us is not what we say in church, but how we treat someone who has been difficult to us.
And this brings us to the heart of the Christian life. Paul said, “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Christianity is more than my attempt to imitate Jesus from the outside. It is Christ working within me from the inside. The branch does not struggle to manufacture fruit. It abides in the vine, and the life of the vine produces the fruit (John 15:4–5). In the same way, I cannot produce the love of Christ by myself. I surrender myself to Christ, abide in Him, and allow His life to be expressed through me.
Perhaps that is one of the greatest discoveries a Christian can make. I do not have to be enough. Christ is enough. I do not have to manufacture His character. I must make room for His character. I do not have to force myself to become loving by sheer human strength. I must let the love of God fill my heart until it begins to overflow into my words, my attitudes, my relationships, and my actions.
One day, much of what seems important today will be gone. The applause will be gone. The buildings will be gone. The possessions will be gone. The accomplishments will be forgotten. But what was done in the love of Christ will never be wasted. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). So let God love through you. Let Christ live through you. Let His kindness become your kindness and His compassion become your compassion.
We are living in a temporary world, but we have been given an eternal opportunity. Every day we have another opportunity to let Jesus touch somebody through our lives. We may not know how far one act of love will travel. We may never see the harvest from one encouraging word. But if Christ did it through us, it was not wasted.
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Lord, teach me to get out of Your way. Fill my heart with Your love and let the life of Christ be seen in me. Help me to love when it is difficult, forgive when it is painful, serve when no one notices, and give when I receive nothing in return. Let my life become a channel through which Your love flows into this temporary world. When everything else passes away, may the love of Christ remain in everything I have done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
BDD
