LOVE
ALWAYS PERSEVERES & NEVER FAILS
The Most Excellent Way- Part XII I Corinthians 13
In our Most Excellent Way series today we will talk about two very important
aspects of Love: Love always Perseveres and Never fails. The Greek word used
here for love is Agape. It is the
unselfish and unconditional love of God towards man. That kind of love from God
always perseveres and never fails, which is contrary to other human forms of
love.
The apostle Paul confronts the
Corinthian church for not living faithfully in Christ-honoring ways and in
accordance to the gospel they are called to proclaim. They had fallen away from many of the
standards they were taught to follow, and instead allowed the culture to
dominate their worldview. Paul was redirecting the Church to a more steady and
steadfast nature of God’s love. Paul was willing to go any length in order to
bring the church back to its intended focus: Loving God and serving others with
gladness and singleness of heart.
If the Apostle Paul were to walk
through our churches he would quickly notice how far we have drifted away from
God’s original intended purposes. He would probably weep by looking at our
shallow relationships, internal squabbles, divisions and our lack of love for
God, and for one another especially those who are different from us. Tony
Campolo an American socialist, author and pastor aptly describes the true
nature of Christianity in the USA, “If we were to set out to establish a
religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look
strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airways of
North America.”[1]
We are living in an age, where
Christians are perceived as people who are intolerant, bible bashing and those
who hate gays. Frankly speaking we ourselves become our great enemies of the
gospel due to our perceived hypocrisy by others, outside the walls of our
churches. As contemporary author Brennan Manning says, “The greatest cause of
atheism is, Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the
door and deny him with their life style. That is what an unbelieving world
simply finds unbelievable.”[2] Coming back to our text, “Love always
perseveres and never fails. Let’s unpack these two aspects of God’s love.
I GOD’S LOVE
ALWAYS PERSEVERES (Steadfastness)
The
tenacious love of God toward his people is relentless. In spite of the
continual rejection by people, God remains steadfastly committed, and willing to
save, whenever people recognize him and seek his forgiveness. God loved the
nation of Israel with steadfast love, yet time and again they turned their back
on Him and followed false gods of other nations. But God did not give up on
them, he kept loving them. The prophet Jeremiah lamented over a people who were
stiff necked, as he recounted God’s great love for them.
Here is Jeremiah’s lamentation: I
remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well
remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and
therefore I have hope: Because of the
Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are
new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord
is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:19-24). In this
passage, we see how God was going after a people who couldn’t care less.
Here is another scripture that
gives us a visible picture of God’s persevering love. “I revealed myself to
those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name, I said,
‘Here am I, here am I. “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate
people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations a people who
continually provoke me to my very face.” Isaiah 65:1-3
These two passages high light how God as a faithful
father goes after his lost children with his relentless love. Randy Alcorn, in his book If God is Good, shared this story of a faithful
father: “In 1988, an Armenian earthquake killed forty-five thousand. In
the chaos one man made his way to his son’s school, only to find nothing but
rubble. Other parents stumbled around dazed and weeping, calling out
their children’s names. But this father ran to the back corner of the
building where his son’s classroom once was, and began digging. To everyone else, it seemed
hopeless. How could his son have survived? But this father had
promised he would always be there for his boy, so he heaved rocks and dug,
calling for his son by name: “Armand!”
Well-meaning parents and bystanders tried to pull him out
of the rubble. “It’s too late!” “They’re dead!” “There’s
nothing you can do!” The fire chief tried to pull him away saying, “Fires
and explosions are happening everywhere. You’re in danger. Go
home!” Finally, the police came and said, “You’re in shock. You’re
endangering others. Go home. We’ll handle it!” But the man continued to dig, hour
after hour—eight hours, then twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six hours.
Finally, in the thirty-eighth hour of digging—a day and a half after everyone
told him to give up hope—he called his son’s name again, pulled back a big
rock, and heard his son’s voice. “Armand!” the father screamed. From under the rocks came the words, “Dad? I told
them! I told the other kids that if you were still alive, you’d save me!”
The father helped his son and thirteen other children
climb out of the rubble. When the building had collapsed, the children
survived in a tent like pocket. The father lovingly carried his son home
to his mother. When the townspeople praised Armand’s father for saving
the children, he simply explained, “I promised my son, ‘No matter what, I’ll be
there for you!” [3]
God is more faithful than even this very human
father. We often bring the house down upon ourselves… but even
then, He seeks to clear the rubble. Thank God, for he never gives up on you. He
has a plan for you and is faithful to carry it out in your life. What would be
our response to God’s relentless love? We accept his love first into our lives
and then we week to model His faithfulness. We will say to our spouse, kids and
to our neighbors… “No matter what, I’ll be there for you!” Can you imagine what
our world would look like if we can emulate this nature of God’s faithfulness
and his relentless love to others? God’s love not only always perseveres
but it never fails.
I
I. GOD’S
LOVE NEVER FAILS (Unending)
The apostle Paul uttered these
words, “God’s love never fails.” Let’s see the context of these words. The
Corinthian believers were boasting about their gifts of prophecy, word of
knowledge and speaking of tongues. Paul told them that one day these three
temporary gifts will cease to exist when, the perfection comes. Here he was
referring to the second coming of Christ. Paul was gently leading them to regain
their focus on something that will never fade away or never cease to exist that
is God’s love. The Greek word translated, “fails” in the NIV is actually
related to a verb, “to fall” The idea is that God’s love will not fall or
falter; it is constant forever.
As God says through the words of Jeremiah,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness”
(Jeremiah 31:3) In Hebrews 13:5, God assures us, “Never will I leave you; never
will I forsake you.” The amazing truth is that, “nothing at all can separate us
from God’s eternal love.” How are we to respond God’s love that always
perseveres and never fails? How can we practically show God’s never failing
love to others?
Steve Macciah notes, “If we are
ever to live with outstretched arms of love, we must first repent of our
failure to do so many times over. This has been the way of the past, it’s
certainly our present experience, and undoubtedly, we’ll need to repent in the
future. We’ve all had opportunities to
love without fail, and we’ve been blown it countless times. Is this your moment
to confess such blatant errors, turn away from such attitudes and actions, and
consider a new way of living more redemptively?”
During this holiday season; let’s
pause and regain our focus back. God’s purpose for us on this earth as his
children is that we will become the dispensers of God’s mercy. We will become
the ambassadors of God’s persevering and never failing love. In Shane Claiborne’s words, we need to become
a “Church of extremists for grace.” What does that mean practically? It means
loving all people regardless of their race, gender, religion, or sexual
orientation. It means learning how to listen and understand people who might be
different from you. It means making room for refugees, welcoming the homeless, seeking
justice for the oppressed, and speaking out on behalf of the voiceless. It means,
practically helping the poor and the needy.
In closing, we became the
recipients of God’s persevering and never failing love when we have accepted
Christ. It was not that we loved God but He first loved us. Therefore, in turn we will go out and spread
this amazing love of God freely to everyone we come in contact with. Though we
conclude the series on the Most Excellent way, the journey of love will
continue.
As we go out to spread the good
news, let’s remember what we have learned about the Most Excellent way: Love is
patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it doesn’t boast, it is not arrogant,
it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs, it does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, and always hopes, always perseveres. Love never
fails.
May the words from Isaiah 61,
continually remind us of our true purpose in life. “The Spirit of the Sovereign
Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the
captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of
ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair…” Amen
