God . . . endures

1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 7

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love is not a sissy. It is strong and tough. I am reminded of the old Timex commercial which proclaimed that a Timex watch could “take a licking and keep on ticking.” Well, love is the same way. It does not falter in tough times. Love is the strongest force in the universe. Love is not a sissy and it’s not for sissies. Love has a backbone and that shows when the chips are down.

Since God is love, then He does not falter either. He endures eternally. You well know that life is not always easy. There are challenges but none of these things ever faze God or diminish His capacity to keep on loving you, believing in you and helping you. Further, no mean thing you may have ever said about God or to God can limit how much He loves you. God’s love takes a licking and keeps on ticking. It is not the casual love that blooms in spring and has run its course by winter. Whether we ever express any affection towards God, He will continue to love us forever. God even loves the person who hates Him. If there is a person in your world who denigrates God, you can look at them and know that God loves them with everything He is because He is love.

And if you know anyone who has ever shown love to anyone or anything, then He has to have a measure of God in him because God is love. Any measure of love is a measure of God. Isn’t that good news? Truly no one is lost to us. We always have hope because love never gives up, never loses hope and endures forever.