Simple Truth
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NKJV)
No one wants to fail. After so many years, you grow to get good at what you do. Whether it is work, relationships, parenting, or some other endeavor, you learn that failure is inevitable, but you also grow from it. There is no greater example of this than our journey of faith. No one sets out to sin, but as Christians, we often find ourselves in situations where we come up short of God’s expectation. We ask ourselves what went wrong. We find ourselves in that unenviable position like Paul said in Romans: “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:18-19) What a helpless feeling that is! Yet eventually, we find that we can indeed overcome this. How is it that even in failure, we find a way to succeed? “The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord,” according to Paul (Romans 7:25b), and for us, the simple truth is that answer is love.
Love is God’s example of perfection. Why is love the end all? Because even amid failure, we often find something within that motivates us to continue forward and fight through our trials and tribulations. In my last devotion, the words of Paul gave us a clue as to why love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love never give up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” In my experience, many things that I have found to be the most challenging are also things I never gave up on until I was successful. Some reasons might be drive or passion. Others might call it competitiveness. However, all of these are derivates of the same source: love. I think of the story of Peter when he first followed the instruction of Jesus. ““Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” (Luke 5:5) Why would Simon, a seasoned fisherman, go against everything his experience had taught and his tireless effort from the previous night to cast the nets down again? They say love makes you do crazy things, right? Those are the moments that help one realize when you have love, all things truly are possible. You see, love never fails, not because there are not times where you will not be successful. Love never fails because when present, victory is already there. It is only a matter of time before we achieve it.
God’s love exemplifies the best of all we could ever hope for. There are things we may accomplish that will fade away, and there are moments that will forever stay in our own memory yet nonexistent in others. But Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” If we love someone and they love us back, it lives forever, and it is never forgotten because that love is shared with others. Let us aspire to love as God loves us for if we do, it will inspire others to love as well. When is the last time you have shared love with someone who needed it? How can you rededicate your efforts to love as God loves us? My prayer is that we never forget the simple truth that love truly never fails. Amen.