The great love verses conclude in verse seven where God now tells us what love must do looking forward. As we have seen love is built on a foundation of kindness and patience. It chooses to have a sacrificial mindset where God is always first and the other person second to ensure selflessness. It is firmly grounded in the truth of God's Word so that it is protected from the lies the enemy will try to speak into it. But now we see the master plan of God unfold as we must choose in our love to never give up, never lose faith, remain always hopeful, and endure through every circumstance. These are all inter-related and speak to the future. It is too simple to just say we must choose to love and leave it at that. God is not unrealistic. He knows that trouble will come into any godly relationship. Jesus Himself said that we will encounter tribulation upon this earth -- no one is exempt from it. But how we react to it is always our choice.
Unfortunately we live in a society that encourages divorce over working things out and compromise. People simply give up too easily on love. That is because when it is rooted in our soul, the devil can more easily manipulate us out of the blessings God intends for us. Paul is teaching here that if we choose to love we must choose to never give up on it. We must always have hope and faith in God. True love realizes that God would never leave us or forsake us. We must endure because it is endurance that refines us:
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. -- James 1: 2-4 (NLT)
But this is so against the grain of worldly thinking when it comes to love. When troubles come we often start to seek ways out of the relationship instead of the trouble! James is reminding us here that endurance is perfecting in nature. We often view these Scriptures as how they affect us individually but it also pertains to relationships. The choice of love includes the choice to not give up on that love just because trials arise. It means to maintain faith in God, always look forward in hope and endure until you both come forth better for having gone through the trial. It is the perfecting work in the relationship. Love always perfects beloved.
I have often heard the lament, "I can't control who I love." I am sorry but that is not supported by Scripture. Perhaps we cannot direct who we decide to give up control of our lives to but don't confuse that with "love." Poets and philosophers have spent eternity draping a shroud of mystery over love. We constantly grieve why one romantic relationship does not work out versus another. Attaching little hearts and cherubs and gooseflesh to love. Stripping the Spirit-side of love out and leaving only the soul; the flesh. Love then becomes something to over-analyze, emotionally. A deadly mixture for us. The result is a series of poor choices where love becomes further shrouded in ambiguity and further away from what God intended.
Is love emotional? Of course. But once you get past the butterflies in the stomach and the physical attraction you are left with choices. Life is always about choices. Love is not meant to be something you feel your way into. It is something you choose your way into. You must choose to be kind and patient. You must choose to not be jealous, boastful or proud. You must choose to love as God intended or as the world encourages. Too often we compromise and sell ourselves short. We settle for less than God intended for us. We can actually trade in someone that truly represents Godly love, for the gooseflesh and butterflies of eventual disappointment. Or we allow failed worldly love to wound us so grievously that we build defenses up around our heart, letting no one come close to who we really are; for fear of being hurt again. There is no magical potion or balm to heal past wounds. There is no prescribed time frame for healing. God is always at our right hand, ready to heal, ready to help us move on, ready to help us become more like Him; more like love. As the key verse today says, the greatest of the things that last forever is love and the choice is always ours.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 13, 2012
