September 16, 2013
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” I Corinthians 13:4-8
These words have been spoken at thousands of weddings; they are the foundation for thousands of marriages. These words are a beautiful picture of something far beyond the realm of human possibility without divine empowerment as they are spoken in a ceremony, but they are the calling for every bride and groom, for every parent, for every friend, for every person. I cannot help but wonder what a young couple, standing at the altar hears and expects when these words are spoken, when the words are read, when the vows are completed, and life together begins.
This has been a season of weddings in our lives. Our son, Adam, and his beautiful bride Claire were married eight years ago in a ceremony in Baton Rouge in a one hundred year old church filled with friends and family. Nine months later, our daughter Christie and her groom, Barry, married at The Yacht Club in Horseshoe Bay. We have attended the weddings of many friends’ children as well as Claire’s three sisters in Baton Rouge, one being an incredible double wedding! We just returned yesterday from a weekend in Jackson-hole Wyoming attending the wedding of our niece Jessica, and her groom Chris. In each of these beautifully unique events, Bill and I witnessed overwhelming expressions of love from parents, friends, family as the events were planned and attended, and expressions of love and affection and hope between the bride and the groom…
Each of these celebrations was energized, each one, joyful…bittersweet for parents, beginning new chapters in their children’s lives, but all filled with hopes and expectations so appropriate and so dreamed for!
These celebrations were pictures of the wedding feast that each believer has to look forward to as we return to our Maker, our Creator, our Father…invited through the redeeming Life Blood of Jesus Christ, the Groom of His church. Daughters, whether we are single, married; divorced, or widowed…we are the Bride of our Jesus!
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” I Corinthians 13:4-8
Love never fails…For some of us, this statement is a paradox. Love has failed in our lives. Perhaps, in a parent-child relationship, the parent, a father or mother, fell short in our estimation of what we needed from them. Perhaps, it has been a bro ken friendship where trust has been betrayed or broken. And the most devastating, is the failure of love in a broken marriage covenant…Love never fails?
As a couple marries, and joins their lives together, each person has experienced some type of brokenness in a relationship…for some, all of the above. But for each of these hopeful brides and grooms…there is something more…something they hope for…something they believe for…something they have faith for…something more profound than the failed love that roams this world…And isn’t this true for all of us? Whether we are entering into a marriage or a relationship of friendship, we hope for, believe for, and have faith for, something very profound and true, and lasting. That love that never fails…
In my life, in my experience, in my relationships, in my quest, in my journey…
I have found this love in The Passing of The Heart…
In our thirty-four years of marriage, Bill has traveled a great deal. We have always tried to leave messages of affection to one another in luggage, on a pillow, on the counter-top of our bath rooms…something to remind the other of our love commitment to one another. In the early days, I would write notes or min-letters (does that surprise you?) and I’m quite sure that because of the length, he probably did not read them all! But he saved them…And what he left me? A note-pad with a scribbled, “I love you”…in surprise places! Then, as children came along…and as I grew busier and he grew even more thoughtful…we found greeting cards to be perfect remainders of our affection in the absence of one another. He would write notes inside of the cards, and I would just sign them…Funny how roles reverse! But profound what a note of love and affection does for someone. As the years went, we used a little business-card sized sign, pink, with the words, “I LOVE YOU” printed on the front and we would just hang the little reminder in fun places! In recent years, I found a beautiful copper heart with “LOVE” stamped into the metal…and this has become “The Passing of The Heart”…
Just as our note-leaving has evolved, so has our relationship grown, matured, transformed…as our two-ness is transforming onto oneness… (To be transparent, there was a time when we thought differently, accusing one another of not thinking at all.) Today, I know that this is the “work” part of marriage…the protection, the trust, the hope, the perseverance part of marriage. And we continue to do the work.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” I Corinthians 13:4-8
One morning as Bill hurried out the door to fly to Waco and then to the Motorplex, he was giving instructions about what to do in case of whatever, and if something broke and if something happenend and if I needed or if I wanted or if …whew!
I walked back into our bedroom to make our bed, there underneath my pillow, lay the copper heart…”LOVE”…My first reaction was to giggle at how sneaky he was because this was one of the mornings where it could have been easily forgotten…
But he did not forget. In fact, he was deliberate in his reminder. My laughter turned into tears, then revelation…and I went to the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, Love never fails…
Bill’s name, William, means protector. In our married life, he has never NOT protected, not trusted, not hoped, not persevered…What is this love that never fails?
The Greek language offered amazing opportunities for effective communication, possessing a more specific language of expression. According to Pastor Bob Smith in his book, Basics of Bible Interpretation, he suggests that the Greek language is especially suited for the “communication of God’s truth” because of the concise and accurately descriptive power of the language. The translation into English is difficult because of the lack of these qualities in the English language. The word “love” is an excellent example of this particular challenge. The word “Love” in English encompasses many feelings, emotions, attractions, needs, and desires. And because of this, our world is very confused about the meaning of “love”…
How can God love like a man or woman or friend loves? And if He does, won’t His love possibly fail too? What is that love that never fails?
The word for that forever, unconditional, perfect love is the Greek word “Agape”. This is the highest level of love appearing in scripture because it is the love of Jesus for His Father, and for His followers. It is the non-partial, sacrificial love exemplified in God’s sacrifice of His Son for the redemption of humankind. There is absolutely no preference or partiality…He sacrificially loves equally.
Agape love is patient, kind and rejoices in the truth. It protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Agape love never fails…
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11
I deeply appreciate that God tells us how to live and how to love. When we are young, we often behave childishly. When we are old, we often behave childishly! I am always entertained as I watch my grand-daughters discover their world. Their childish mannerisms are perfect examples of how our loving heavenly Father guides us. Just as the four girls’ parents teach, instruct, guide, and help them in the ways of obedience, consideration for others, selfless behavior, and “loving” ways, this is exactly how our Father teaches us to love in a way that does not fail. He tells us. He shows us. He has given us a perfect set of instructions in His Word…and He has given us a Helper in the Spirit to empower, to enable, to lead us into ways of “Love” that never fails. While only God’s love is perfect Agape Love, we are enabled through His power to seek to expend His kind of Love…As we put away our childish ways of the past, as we put aside our demands, our preferences, our partiality and put on unconditional, protecting, trusting, hoping, persevering, unfailing Love…through Him.
The Passing of “The Heart”…And isn’t exactly what God did for us? Through the life of His precious Jesus, He passed that perfect holy Love to the world. When there is a miraculous organ-transplant in modern medicine, life is shared with the recipient…but blood is shed by the donor. It is painful, it is costly, it is sacrificial, but it gives life…
The Passing of The Heart…
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13
Daughters, what I learned that day with that lovely copper heart, that while my cute husband is not perfect, he has moved along our journey together putting down his childish ways…and I truly pray that I have been doing the same thing in our marriage. I pray that we have done that for our children, for our friends, for our employees…for our extended family, for our church. While I know that we fall miserably short, I know that God has helped us to be more aware of the “Love” that does not fail, that protects, that trusts, that hopes and perseveres. Because He is the loving perfect parent who “LOVES” us enough to give all for us…to teach us by example and to empower us and to lead us.
Hallelujah!
The Passing of The Heart…
Daughters, this Agape love is to be shared with mankind. We are called to love as friends, as family, as parents, as husbands, as wives, as children of God. No matter who is in our lives or who is not, no matter what we have or what we have not…we are called to love. We are called to love our God and to love our neighbor. No matter how lovely, no matter how unlovely our husbands, our friends, our families, our neighbors might be, we are called to love as God loves…by passing His Heart.
And when we need love, and we for whatever reason do not receive it… (And yes, life brings it on…there are many of those times) Our loving God is our “husband”. In Hosea 2 God promises to betroth us to Him forever, in righteousness and justice, in loving-kindness and in compassion. And in Isaiah 54, we are reminded that “your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is His name…”He is our protector; He is the lover of our souls and our hearts…because He gave His heart…His life…His perfect AGAPE LOVE.
Praise God that men and women continue to honor marriage. Praise God that people honor godly friendships, godly families, godly business relationships. Praise God that young people and old people continue to believe in the sanctity of marriage and continue to celebrate marriage through wedding ceremonies. Praise God that the Word of God is spoken to instruct and to empower. Praise God for His unconditional LOVE!
These beautiful wedding celebrations are pictures of the wedding feast that each believer has to look forward to as we return to our Maker, our Creator, our Father…invited through the redeeming Life Blood of Jesus Christ, the Groom of His church. Daughters, whether we are single, married; divorced, or widowed…we are the Bride of our Jesus!
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.”
Revelation 19: 6, 7
Daughters, you are the bride of Christ. I pray that you are the givers of good, holy, righteous, life-giving love to all people around you. I pray that you receive the Agape Love of your Jesus; He is there. I pray that you find true joy in “The Passing of The Heart”…loving as Jesus loves.
Abundant joy,
