A Love That Lasts

　　By Aaron D’Anthony Brown

　　Bible Reading:

　　“Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, CSB

　　Holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day provide us with invaluable time to showcase our love for others. So many people, ourselves included, go above and beyond to demonstrate just how much we care. We spend time with people, buy them gifts, take into consideration what they prefer. And we painstakingly avoid all the things that they don’t. These times throughout the year remind us that there is a lot of love to share and a lot of people in need of love. Yet, as great as these times are for so many people, we’re left with a very obvious question when all is said and done. If we can love so well then, why don’t we love so deeply always?

　　I can remember a time in my life when I bought people gifts for Christmas or birthdays. Sometimes there was thought put into the gifts, but mainly, I wanted to fulfill obligations. Obligations that, at times, they didn’t even set! Now, as I’ve gotten older, I don’t buy gifts out of feeling an obligation. I also don’t wait until the holidays to celebrate people. After all, if we love only when the act is convenient or expected, then is it really love?

　　Perhaps there are some ways in which you put limitations on how well you take care of those around you. This is an important question to ask ourselves because sometimes we make decisions, even accidentally, that stifle our ability to love. Loving others is the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-40), and yet, we don’t always do our due diligence to fulfill it. Imagine God claiming to love us, but making clear He doesn’t always want us to seek Him. Or imagine your parents, children, or friends saying, “I love you,” but only during certain times of the year. We certainly prefer for people not to limit their love towards us. And if so, then the opposite should also be true.

　　If we follow God’s example when we interact with other people, then He will show us how to cultivate a love that lasts. Not for a day or season, but all year long.

　　Intersecting Faith Life:

　　As Christians we are called to follow after God. That means sharing with others a love that lasts through every season and even extends to our enemies. However, how exactly do we do that? The answer is simple. We search for the evidence in His example.

　　Love Consistently

　　God wants us to seek Him no matter the day or the time. While we won’t be pursuing one another so passionately, His example does reaffirm that we should always try to be there for each other. Hardships come often when we least expect. If we love each other consistently, then we’ll always show up even during those unexpected moments. Loving each other was never meant to be easy. Look at Jesus, He paid a hefty price to show His love for you and me.

　　Love Generously

　　How much does God give you? Truthfully, there is no way to quantify just how blessed you are. Even if you spent a day or a year trying to write it all down, you wouldn’t be able to recognize every which way God’s hand has been moving in your life. We simply don’t have the divine perspective. However, looking at His generosity, we can, at the very least, understand that we shouldn’t be stingy with what we give, nor superficial. God’s gifts have meaning. Ours should too.

　　Love Openly

　　God’s love for us is also steadily visible, not hidden under a rock. If you’ve ever had a friend or loved one who was ashamed of their relationship with you, then you know what the feeling is like to be hidden from others. Among other things, you feel unworthy. God doesn’t treat us like that, and therefore, we should not do that to one another. Love openly seen can be openly felt.

　　Love Authentically

　　Don’t love in the way man tells you to love. People can definitely give good advice, but if you want to understand true love, then you cannot seek mankind is the ultimate example. No. The epitome of love is God. His love isn’t for show or without intention. He knows us intimately through and through and loves us in the ways we respond to. That includes loving us when we don’t love back and loving us in ways we don’t deserve. We’re human and thus won’t match God perfectly, but we can still look at Him and understand how to love authentically, each and every day.

　　Further Reading:

　　1 Corinthians 16:14

　　John 3:16

　　John 15:13

　　1 John 4:19

　　Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Tom Merton

　　Aaron D'Anthony Brown is a freelance writer, hip-hop dance teacher, and visual artist, living in Virginia. He currently contributes to Salem Web Network’s Crosswalk platform and supports various clients through the freelancing website Upwork. He's an outside-the-box thinker with a penchant for challenging the status quo.

　　Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

　　Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!

　　Related Resource: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Your EmotionsAre you tired of up-and-down feelings stealing your peace, sabotaging your relationships, and filling your mind with self-defeating thoughts? What if you had a proven emotional management tool to biblically respond to your feelings with compassion and clarity? Join us for today’s episode to discover three simple steps to manage emotions, reduce stress, improve decision-making, and grow closer to God. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to The Love Offering on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!