Incorruptible Love

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:24 ESV)

Love is risky. Some have said it feels like falling. Your breath catches, stomach floats, and time slows for just a moment. It is usually the smallest thing that trips us, a smile or glance. Everything comes into perspective and you know this is where you belong. You aren't sure where you will land, or if you will. 

When we truly love something, the object of our affection becomes the priority and we would do anything to protect it. Unfortunately, most things we put our affection into have an expiration date or a tendency to spoil. This life tainted with sin has resulted in marriages that end in divorce, pregnancies that result in loss, sickness that cripples and friendships riddled with betrayal.

  When we experience such beauty and it is taken from us, it is nothing short of heartbreaking. Still, we choose to take that path because the beauty we experience is worth the risk. We take the pain of loss in stride because, as Alfred Lord Tennyson once put it, “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” If flawed love is worth so much, how much more is perfect love worth?

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV)

You have probably heard these verses a thousand times before, but bear with me. Sometimes, there is treasure to be found in a reminder of the simplest of truths. I have often looked at this description of love as a list of characteristics I need to adopt, but if God is love (1 John 4:16), then let's look at this as insight into God’s character. This verse has become a pillar of my faith to look back on as a reminder of who God is and how he relates to us.

God is patient when we don’t listen and He is kind when the world is not. God does not envy… of course, why would He? God does not boast and is not arrogant regarding His status, power or marvelous works. He is not rude, treating us with high respect, though we certainly do not deserve it.

God does not insist on His own way, allowing us to choose as we see fit. He is not irritable or resentful, but slow to anger and quick to forgive. God delights in truth instead of wrongdoing, so He is trustworthy. God bears with us, believes in us, gives hope to us and endures with us. 

While this world offers a fickle, unreliable love; God offers us an everlasting and incorruptible love. His love for us is constant, unwavering, and resilient. He knows and loves us fully. There is no flaw in us that He has not seen. We have a reliable and steadfast Father who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). There will never be a day when God takes His love from us as it endures forever (Psalm 136:26). God loves us out of the abundance of who He is and that will never change.

The safety we find in the Love of God is an immovable fortress. This steady ground allows us to walk confident and fulfilled. We do not have to hold back parts of ourselves, wondering when the other shoe will drop. Although the Christian life does not promise a life without difficulty, we can let go of all apprehension and fear, leaning into the Lord’s loving arms. 

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Remember to prioritize firsthand Bible reading every day, only the Word has the power to transform. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV