His Enduring Love

"Love never fails."
(1 Corinthians 13:8)

I learned the most amazing thing about this verse today.

The Greek word for "fails" is ekpipto (ek-pip-to) which means to "fall off". Several commentaries referred to the idea of falling flower petals.

Think about it.

A flower is the embodiment of beauty, the expression of glory. BUT the beauty can only last for so long and then the petal falls away. The stem remains. The roots remain. But the petal, regardless of its momentary beauty, falls away.

Love will never do that.
God's love, that is.

The love Paul is referring to is agape (ag-ah-pay) love. This is the unconditional love God has for the world. This is sacrificial love so freely given. It is pure. It is complete. It is eternal.

Without agape love, grace could not exist.
Without agape love, salvation could not exist.
Mercy, lovingkindness, peace...none could exist.

Perhaps those are the petals, but God's love is the stem. God's love is the life source for all of creation. His love prepares us for eternity and His love accompanies us there. God's love surrounds us and protects us. His love provides for us.

Always.

It will never fail.

"Behold, I am the Lord, your God; is anything too hard for Me? I am the light of the world, and the greatest darkness will never be able to quench that light. I will be to you a cloud to preserve you by day and a pillar of fire to protect you by night. Both in sunshine and in darkness, I shall be near you. You will delight in Me in your joys; and in your difficulty My love for you shall be as inescapably real as a blazing pillar of fire. Be sure of this: LOVE NEVER FAILS. Loving Me never fails to bring Me to your side. He sees Me most clearly who loves Me most dearly" (Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts).

"He sees Me most clearly who loves Me most dearly."

I love that.
Trust in His love. Hope in His love.

God's love will never fail you.

Father, Thank You for Your love, for Your strong embrace. I pray we will never take You for granted. Open our eyes to see the magnitude of Your enduring love. Help us wrap an understanding around what eternal love means in our lives. You are so very precious to us. Bless Your Holy Name!