Love never fails. Just like the Duracell Bunny, God’s love never stops. God’s love never fails because His love is a part of His very nature. God is love, and God never fails, grows weary or runs out of power. The love of God is now here in time and space, but as a part of God’s very nature, His love lasts forever. From eternity past to eternity future is the love of God.
First Corinthians 13:8-13 reads, “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 prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
At some point, prophecies will end; language will end; knowledge will vanish. What will last from time to eternity? Love. The Corinthians were cherishing their spiritual gifts. Paul told them to cherish that which last forever: love. To grow up in Christ is to grow in love. Paul called the Corinthians to set aside childish things and pursue the best thing. Paul exhorted them to pursue that which is eternal: the love of God.
I remember when I got my first pager. That was quite a long time ago. Then I got my first cell phone. What did I do with my pager when I got a cell phone? I threw the pager away. Then came smartphones. What did I do with my old cell phone when smartphones hit the market? I traded in the old to get the new. Then came the era of iPhones. I remember going from the iPhone 3, to the 3S, to the 4, and so on ad infinitum.
What if someone approached you today and said they could give you a phone now that never will be out of date? Right now, the phone they have to give you possesses the technology that never will be surpassed. This phone will last forever, never run out of data, minutes or become obsolete. Would you set aside your current phone that is doomed to become recycled material in light of the new that has come, the new that will last forever?
We now live in time. We do not see eternity as God does; but God’s Word tells us that when we hold on to love, we have a grasp of eternity. Love is a part of the very nature of God and the mark of a Christian now and throughout eternity. Love will make the leap from time to eternity. Love lasts forever.
As Paul closed 1 Corinthians, he provided the Corinthians with a list of commands. Verse 14 reads, “Let all that you do be done with love.” This command literally translated form the Greek reads, “Let all your doings in love be born.” Love is the test through which every thought, action and attitude must pass. Love is the filter through which all we do should flow. If it does not pass the love test, set it aside. Let everything you do be done in love, for it is love that lasts forever.