Tedashii - Below ParadiseSample

Love Never Leaves

On my wedding day I vowed to love my wife. In sickness and in health. For better or for worse. Til death do us part. I never could have imagined that our worse would include the death of our son. This tragedy felt like a violent hurricane I was in the eye of. And she was too. Just as with any violent storm, once it passes, there’s a lot of damage; many things in need of repair.

So it was for my marriage.

At times, the whole thing seemed hopeless. Statistics say couples don’t make it out of losing a child. For most, divorce is the inevitable end. And taking a step back and surveying the culture, it seems that for the majority of marriages, divorce is the inevitable end. But this isn’t how God intended it.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is a passage you’ve probably heard, and probably at a wedding. It’s a beautiful passage that so many celebrate on Day 1 of marriage, but can quickly stray from as the days turn to months, years, decades.

Take some time to consider the weighty call of this text. Ask the Lord to deepen your understanding of each of love’s attributes. Personally, I can’t make it past the first description of love without having a complete shift in understanding. So that’s what we’ll look at - love is patient. What does that mean?

Let's think about the opposite. Impatience. We usually envision someone who his antsy, not able to sit still and quiet as they wait for something they want. We celebrate a child as patient when they wait 5 minutes for a promised dessert.

This isn’t the picture painted in 1 Corinthians 13. The Greek word translated patience means to be long-spirited; to forebear, suffer long. How quick we usually are to move on when things get hard, uncomfortable. In the mundane, in conflict, in suffering loss, God has called His children to be patient, to endure.

Because that is how Christ loves the church.

My wife and I had a choice - we chose patience. We were committed. To work - hard. To fight - well. To love - continuously. Because God makes it clear - true love never leaves.

Father, thank you for loving me with an unconditional, never-ending love. Help me love others as you have loved me. Amen.