Love Never Fails

Valentines Day is a great day, isn’t it? I love love!  What I mean is that God’s word tells us that love never fails. It is critical that you are confident in who you are, that you are loved, and that you are capable of loving others. So let’s take a closer look at that as we dig into words of encouragement.

Is It Possible for Love to Fail?

At weddings, we hear the all-to-famous words from the scripture 1 Corinthians 13 (the Love chapter), that “love never fails.”  People fail, businesses fail, relationships fail, teams fail, and this thing we call life seems to fail us at times too.  So is it a surprise that love fails?  We have all heard about how first, second and third marriages fail at a high percentage.

And sometimes love, when being honest about it, just doesn’t feel like love.  Love hurts!  Even the band Nazareth sang a song about that.

But Is That Really Love?

Here’s the problem, we have let others re-define love.  Love is between two people who choose to interpret it however they want.  They make it fit their own desires.  And no two people define it the same.  Love is controlling, love is being served, love is getting what you want when you want, love is sex, love is money (Oh for the love of money), and love is selfish. 

Then there are two other types of love – “I love you if,” and “I love you but.“  This is love with strings attached.

No Strings Attached

So here’s the point.  None of the above is actually love.  Love doesn’t fail – people do.  People fail to love.  They fail to love as love was intended.  Love doesn’t control. Love is not just a feeling. And love has no strings attached.  Love is unconditional.  If love is implemented as intended, as described in 1 Corinthians 13, then love does not fail. Call it what you want, but otherwise, it is not love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 niv

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  ⁸ Love never fails.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

When what is thought to be love fails, people are less happy. They are more lonely. And they are more likely to experience depression as well as stress.

So why do people do this? This thing called love…that really is not. Why do they bring such issues and unhappiness into their lives? It’s like peeling an onion (I hate onions), there are a lot of layers to it. But simply put, they can’t help themselves.  People can’t help themselves because they don’t know true love.

A Crazy Thing Called Love – God’s Love

We were created to be loved.  It’s a crazy thing. I think Queen put it like this, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

We have this place in our heart that God created to be filled with His love.  When this is so, we love (because He first loved us).  And when we love, it really is love.  So don’t get caught up in calling all those other things love, but focus on God’s love. That is real love.  Everything else is counterfeit.

Challenge of the Week

Love yourself – that’s first.  You are greatly loved by God. He created you and so greatly desires to have a personal relationship with you .  You are a big deal to God.  So then next, love others.  When doing so, check your motives and apply God’s love.  Say to someone this week, “I love you….period! Not if, not but, and not with strings attached.  So be it!