Jul 25, 2016

God is Love (32)

                   1 John 4:8

Love Never Fails

                                    1 Corinthians 13

We now state the final truth of Love: it shall not fail! Probably the most difficult thing to understand in this seemingly solid material world that we think we live in, is that it does not matter if our little beautiful blue ball is extinguished or not, life and love continue on. We continue on, with out end. Since God is Love, and nothing but Love, Love is all that remains, as St. Paul so eloquently puts it: “12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13.

When all is said and done, when we leave this planet for the last time, faith and hope are gone, for we see face to face, and we know fully, leaving only love. Even if life as we know it is extinguished, we will continue to live, for life is eternal, existing as love from all eternity for all eternity.

 

In our practice of love here on earth, what we call love often fails. It seems like a rarity to see a marriage of longevity, even though only 45% of marriages fail, leaving over half to continue on until ‘death do us part’. But far too many of those that seem to last, love has long since left, and only co-existence remains. For love is not just attraction between two people, but a process that has to be worked on if love is to last. Love as most often practiced today is a combination of lust and ego feeding, as in “look who I am with” ego. Eventually that wears out, and what is left is two souls tied to one another. Anger and fear arise, eventually leading to separation and divorce.

 

That is not love, but the ego speaking. Love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13, is a process of the will, choosing to respect the other, no matter what happens, choosing to adjust ones’ own way to better fit the pattern that flows together, choosing to give and hold in highest regard the other’s thoughts and ways, choosing to honor the other at all times. Now it doesn’t always work that way, but if that process is in the majority of time, than it will become Love as God has expressed it. And if both parties follow that route, than a true partnership arises that lasts through this lifetime and beyond.

 

Then we begin, just begin, to understand the Love that God has for us: for God has chosen to love us, respect us, holding our thoughts in highest regard, choosing to accept us as we adjust our life as we change, giving us the freedom to express ourselves as we desire, never taking that freedom from us, that freedom to choose our life as we wish. (Of course, we also have to live with the result of our choices, just as in any relationship.)

 

Thus God Loves us with the ultimate love of all time, leaving us free.

 

What is our response to that Love?

 

As the deer pants for streams of water,

So my soul pants for You, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

                               Psalm 42: 1

 

Meditation

 

My Beloved Wisdom, Y0u have led me through troubled waters in my lifetime, but have given me love at every turn. I could never flee from the Love that You have showered upon me, as your Love proceeded me at every turn I made in life. Gentle and soft, hard and firm, that Love gave me hope in times of despair and sorrow. You have shown me a path of love that I now strive to follow, weak though I am. I ask that I see the way, and I depend on Your strength to support me in all times of gloom. I give myself into that Love that surrounds and fills me at all times, so that I can be your gateway for Love to flow into our sad world of pain.

 

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