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Love Never Fails

Love Never Fails

Words of Faith 7-21-17

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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1 Corinthians 13

   [8] Love never fails.

 

       This is an easy one to skip over quickly. Love never fails. Three words. Hmm. Three... troubling words if we stay there too long. If we can just skip on to the next verse quickly enough we may avoid the "but what about" thoughts that start to come to mind.

       But what about this situation where I loved a person and they didn't reform or come to Christ? But what about that person who loved their spouse but the spouse did not reform and left? What about this child who was loved but rebelled. And what about the people that God has loved enough to give His only Son for them, but they reject His Son? Uh-oh. Better skip on quick.

       If we get started we could go on and on regarding situations in which the love of God certainly seems to have failed. Of course, one solution is simply to declare that God's love is sovereign and accomplishes what God desires and anything else you are worried about is actually, in fact, the loving expression of God's love... even if it doesn't look like love. Okay. Shwew. So skip to verse 9 if you like.

       But if you still have questions, read on. So what about those times when people who have been loved with the love of God turn evil? Or choose terrible sin? Or wage war? Hasn't love failed? Was this what love intended to accomplish?

       It is undeniable that love does fail, if... we understand that the motive of love is to control and change and force people to act in a particular way. So perhaps that is the point. Love, above all, does not have to have its own way. Love, above all, offers freedom.

       One might say that the love of God failed in the Garden of Eden. After all, God loved the humans absolutely and cared for them completely. But they still sinned. So love failed, right? "You blew it, God. That experiment didn't work. Wow, what a mistake." No. Love did not fail; the humans failed.

       In the Garden, love gave every provision including moral freedom. It was within that gift of moral freedom that the humans failed. And God kept on loving. God prepared a covering for the humans through the sacrifice of one of the animals He created. There was a consequence for the failure of the humans but God still had a plan-- ultimately the sacrifice of His Son. Love never failed. It just kept on loving.

       Love never fails. These three words actually help us to understand the difference between our human definitions of "loving" and the eternal expression of love. The love of God never quits. The love of God never fails.

       The love of God cannot fail. The love of God desires the very best for His creation and for humanity. The love of God offered freedom. The love of God was even willing to pay for the eternal consequence of sin. But the love of God does not demand acceptance of grace. The offer of grace is consistent in the Bible along with the call for decision. His love is consistent in offering freedom.

       This is why love is patient and kind. It offers freedom of time and response. This is why love does not envy and does not boast and is not proud. This is why love is not rude and is not self-seeking. Love that offers freedom is not easily angered. Love offers forgiveness and keeps no record of wrongs. Such love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. This is the love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. This love never fails. It cannot fail.

           So how do we walk that out? We can't. Only with God in us can we love unconditionally. Only by the Spirit of God can we love selflessly. Only with the fruit of God's Spirit can we love in a way that does not have to control other people or demand a certain result. Only when we love with God's love can we offer freedom. That love never fails.

       So what does love accomplish? Love is its own end. Love accomplishes the offer of freedom. Love is its own goal. Love is wholly sacrificial. It requires no response. It manufactures no product. It offers everything and requires nothing in return. Its ultimate expression is called grace, and it is amazing.

 

         Father God, I am overwhelmed by the power of Your love. I am overwhelmed by the freedom You offer and yet also by the price You have paid. I am overwhelmed by Your grace and mercy. I find that Your love is irresistible. I receive it. Help me to express it. In Jesus' Name.