And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13v13
I think I may have used the words of an Andrew Peterson song a few months ago, but now is an especially suitable time to remember a particular part of the song.
“Cause after the last plan fails
After the last siren wails
After the last young husband sails off to join the war
After the last "this marriage is over"
After the last young girl's innocence is stolen
After the last years of silence that won't let a heart open
There is love
Love, love, love
There is love”
Even the secular world recognises 1 Corinthians 13 as the greatest summary of love ever written. It only makes sense, since God is love, that His word would have the greatest picture of love.
I only want to focus on two phrases today.
Love never fails
The greatest of these is love
As the poet Andrew Peterson expresses in the lyrics above, at the very end of it all, love will still be there. Everything else that we encounter or deal with will eventually pass away, only love will remain. God is love and if He cannot die love can’t die. His love will continue on for all eternity. Faith will one day be fulfilled and complete. One day our eternal hope will become reality and be accomplished, but love will just go on and on and on.
Some music is criticised because it is perceived by some as being repetitious and just going over the same thing again. An older song captured the essence with
Yes Jesus loves me,
Yes Jesus loves me,
Yes Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so
Peterson captures it with
There is love,
Love, love, love,
There is love
Both capture the essence of a love that goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
At the end of the day, when it is all said and done, when God’s plan has been fulfilled and completed, love will still be there.
Maybe we ought to be practicing up for eternity.
1 comment:
This song really captures the essence of God and the message of I Cor. 13. Personally I look forward to "...the end, the end is/Oceans and oceans/Of love and love again/We'll see how the tears that have fallen/Were caught in the palms/Of the Giver of love and the Lover of all/And we'll look back on these tears as old tales."
It ties right into the promise of Romans 8:28-29 - where we see how his love was working ALL things together for our good to conform us to His image. And there's the hope that one day all of the trials and heartaches of this life will just be far in the distant past fairy tales - they could have happened but being with God will suspend the reality, and we'll just be able to remember it all almost as entertainment. His love will overshadow all of the pain and tears and gives us an entirely new view of the universe.
You're right too, how do I relate that hope to other people while I'm still here? That's a challenge!
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