Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 22, 2015
… bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Love always perseveres. It does not give up. This is why the love commitment of husbands and wives is “till death do us part.” This is the assurance that accompanies love, for it is loyal in the face of hard times. “I don’t love you anymore” is not an option for couples committed to Christ. Love always perseveres. It perseveres through problems; it perseveres through misunderstandings; it perseveres though uncertainty; it perseveres through knock down, drag out arguments; it perseveres through persecution, divorce, and abandonment; it perseveres through a lawsuit or being fired.
Love becomes better instead of bitter when experiencing a raw deal. God’s grace and love provide you the lasting capability for extraordinary love. Indeed, if your heavenly Father didn’t personally love you, your love would be lethargic. It would be sluggish in its application to others if you were not daily loved by the Lord. You can’t be an unconditional lover if you don’t receive the unconditional love of Jesus. Therefore, love always perseveres in the process of being loved and extending love.
This is why a parent perseveres in his or her love for their child. They can only give up on loving their loved one when their heavenly Father gives up on loving them. Parents persevere with their children because they love their children. Even through the hurt, rejection, selfishness, financial irresponsibility, and anger, love still stands. Love will not step down to the devil’s strongholds in a young person’s mind and heart.
Moreover, love perseveres in reminding them of the truth. Remind your children that their identity is in Christ. Your child is forgiven by you and by God; remind them of this. God has uniquely gifted your child; remind them of this. Love perseveres in reminding and revealing truth to those it loves. Pray the eyes of your child’s heart will see and understand the truth of who they are from God’s perspective. They are longing for love, so be the lead lover in their life.
Lastly, persevere in your love for your parents. Parents can be distant and disinterested, but still love them. To some degree, they may still be licking the wounds of past hurts and disappointments. They need love as much as or more than anyone else. Love your mom and dad while they are still alive. One day they will not be around to love, so express all your love for your parents in this life. You plan for no regrets when you aggressively love them now. They may have chronically hurt you, but love them still. They may not love back, but still love them.
They may be caught up in their own cares, but still love them. Love knows better, so it perseveres beyond bitterness and betrayal. You lose when the flames of love are extinguished by sheer exhaustion. You may need to rest in, receive, and be rejuvenated by the loving relationship of your friend, Jesus. Slow down and be loved. Persevere in your love, and one day you will be grateful you did. It is an invaluable investment because love leaves no regrets. It always perseveres.
Post/Tweet this today: We can be an unconditional lover if we receive the unconditional love of Jesus. #loveperseveres #wisdomhunter
Taken from the December February 22nd reading in Seeking Daily the Heart of God v.1
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I have been blessed by this devotional many times. Too many to count! I love the wisdom. One thing breaks my heart from time to time reading it though. Sometimes the message is clearly directed toward a demographic with a spouse, children and parents such as this one. Sometimes it’s directed toward people with one of those. God is love. The persevering love of God is the point in the great love story told in His word. The application of this is sadly missed I think when it’s marginalized to “the family man”. It can be a powerful piece of wisdom or miss the mark completely by making it too small. I don’t have an ask just hope this encourages the writers. Thank you for the opportunity to comment!
I don’t understand what you mean love perseveres through divorce.
Dear Anne~
Thank you so much for reaching out to us with your heartfelt and thought provoking comments after reading “Love Always Perseveres”. We are also thankful for the encouraging words about how you have been blessed by the Wisdom Hunter’s devotionals. I must admit, Anne, there are times when I feel that a particular devotional doesn’t “speak to me”, so I do understand what you are saying. While there are devotionals that focus on marriages, or perhaps two parent families, there are also many devotionals devoted to divorced readers, widowed or single by choice. Boyd writes the devotionals, guided by the Holy Spirit, to everyone in the “family of God” and those seeking to learn more about God.
I believe that on the days the devotionals are not speaking directly to me (which are very few…)then they must be written for someone in my life. Perhaps a loved one, friend, neighbor or coworker was meant to read that devotional and it is up to me to share it with them. In my heart I feel God put that devotional in front of me to read that very day to share with someone on my heart.
What is that saying? There is no coincidences, just “God-incidences”.
Of course on other days, Gracious Me, the devotional is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you Lord!
This devotional, “Love Always Perseveres” was meant for all of us! Not just for the family man but for all of us in God’s family. You summed it up beautifully when you said “The persevering love of God is the point in the great love story told in His Word”. Thank you, Anne, for your wise words.
We are so thankful for you and look forward to hearing from you again.
Blessings to you and yours.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12
Dear Rafael,
What a great question and one I am sure a question other fellow wisdom hunters had after reading “Love Always Perseveres”. We thank you for taking the time to ask us.
I believe that the author is describing the kind of love that we read about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.
This wonderful love that God wants all of His children to experience is beautifully explained to us in these scripture verses. This type of Holy love does persevere through all our trials, including divorce.
In the devotional Boyd states, “God’s grace and love provide you the lasting capability for extraordinary love.” Later on he says, “Therefore, love always perseveres in the process of being loved and extending love”. While it may be hard to believe that love perseveres through the possible ugliness of divorce, God’s Love does! Always! It is hard, but with His Grace and Love (this persevering love) you will “get to the other side’ of this trial.
In the last paragraph of the devotional, it answers your question clearly: “Love knows better, it perseveres beyond bitterness and betrayal.”
Rafael, I hope this helped. If not, please feel free to email me at gwynne@wisdomhunters.com and we can continue the conversation. In the meantime, let me just say that we are so thankful for you. We are always blessed when we hear from our Wisdom Hunter’s family.
Blessings to you and yours.
Gwynne
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13