The Kind of Love that Stands the Test of Time from The Love Standard Series
“Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.” 1 Corinthians 13:8 CSB
Rolling out of the bed as the alarm clock went off, I suddenly remembered my son, Isaac, telling me the night before that he wanted to take his lunch to school the next day. Isaac goes through spells where he will take his lunch consistently and then other times where he just eats from the school cafeteria’s menu. As I walked into the kitchen, still trying to wake up enough to get everyone and everything going, I opened the refrigerator door and stood there – blank stare and all – at the almost bare shelves. We were overdue for a grocery run, and you would know that Isaac would pick this morning to want to take his lunch to school.
Scanning the shelves, I thought, “Oh good, we have yogurt drinks, I can pack him one of those to go along with his sandwich.” However, my heart quickly sank when I looked at the expiration date. The yogurt drink had gone out of date a week earlier, so I was back to square one.
As I looked at the expiration date, I was reminded of our key verse. Love – God’s standard for love – never ends. It never expires. It doesn’t have an expiration date stamped on it. When everything else in this life ends, love never will.
Paul was writing this letter to the people at Corinth who put a lot of stock in prophecies, tongues, and especially knowledge. Paul wanted them to know (and this applies to us too!) that each of these things have their place and are needful, but they will never stand the test of time. But love – God’s love – will never go out of date. It never fails and it never ends. God’s standard of love is the kind of love that will stand the test of time for all eternity!
Without love, the fruit of the Spirit is incomplete, and the gifts of the Spirit are deemed worthless. Christian love however is eternal. It is a permanent, unconditional concern for others that flows from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit rather than from human desire or human effort.
So, how does this apply to our marriages? When we want to quit and throw in the towel – we seek God for direction. We determine to seek God’s standard before we get to the point of wanting to quit. We learn - through the power of the Holy Spirit - how to love our husbands sacrificially the way Jesus loves us. It won’t always be easy. Matter of fact, sometimes it will be downright hard. But sweet friend, if we choose God’s standard of love – we can’t go wrong because His love never ends.
Heavenly Father,
I am in awe of your love. Thank you for being a God that loves me regardless of myself. Thank you for your eternal, never ending love that stands the test of time. You don’t have to love me and yet you do with such a love that I can’t even begin to fathom. Thank you for teaching us how to love like you love. I am so imperfect with this. I try and I fail more times than I can count and yet you are so patient with me. You pick me up, dust me off, and tell me just to keep trying. I am so thankful for your unwavering patience with me. Help me to love like you love and to be more like you and less like me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8 NKJV
“For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
1 John 3:11 NKJV
Reflection - Challenge # 7
When things haven’t been going smoothly, have you ever been tempted to look at your marriage like it has an expiration date on it?
How can you shift your thinking so that you view love for your husband in God’s standard of love that never ends instead of how the world views love?
Challenge yourself to do one special thing for your husband this week that demonstrates God’s standard of love even if you don’t get the same kind of love in return.