Quiet Moments With God -- Love Never Fails

I love my grandchildren. God has blessed me by planting them close. We get to spend a lot of time together and I'm convinced they're exceptionally lovable. They teach me things about life that I might not see if not for them. I learn from their goodness and their naughtiness.

Recently, I've been thinking on the behavior of two of my grandsons. They're usually buddies who support one another and share good times. However, they sometimes forget that they even like each other. They strike out with unkind words and sometimes with their fists. After one of these episodes they go through a process of rebuilding the relationship. They're just kids and so this doesn't usually take long, but the conflicts happens again and again. There's competition over who is smarter, stronger better at video games or athletics. I don't know why they compete but I do know that it begins with self.

I've seen conflict rise up between friends, business partners and family, including church family. Clashes have the power to destroy relationships and can tear apart organizations, including our churches. They begin for various reasons, but if you go to the core of the matter you will most likely discover that it began with self.

Sad to say, human beings are self-centered. We want what we want when we want it. And on top of that, we think we deserve whatever that is.

There is a way to avoid this kind of destructive behavior. 1st Corinthians, chapter 13 shows us the way, but today I'm going to focus on just four verses, beginning with verse 4. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Straight forward and simple. All we have to do is love one another. If only it were so easy. It should be. God is love and He lives in us. So . . . shouldn't we possess the qualities described in 1st Corinthians 13? We do, but our sinful nature gets in the way.

There's only one man who lived a sinless life--Christ. We're all sinners and incapable of living a sin free life. Nevertheless, most of us can do better. Imagine what our lives would be like if we lived out the above verses. The first word that comes to my mind is peace. If everything was about love instead of self I'd be at complete peace with whatever comes my way. What about you? What do you see when you consider the possibility of loving at all times?

Because we're human we commit sinful acts and thoughts every day, many times a day. We muffed up perfection way back in The Garden. But alls not lost. We can create a world that possesses more justice, more kindness, more love. If each one of us will strive to be more like Christ we will love in a way that will impact our world for good.

Perhaps making a vow (not to be taken lightly) to follow Paul's teachings on love would be what we need to kick start a better way of living out our days. We can begin each day by renewing our vow and doing our best to catch ourselves when we are tempted to do otherwise. We would love more completely and I guarantee that our heartache over the failings in our lives will fade, at least a little . . . for love never fails.

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie