Love in this day and age is seen as an extreme physical and emotional desire for a relationship of sexual desires. That is not how God intended it to be because it is fleeting and is not enduring. The desires may remain but the high they produce does not. God's love is far more complete and enduring. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love never comes to an end.(The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)
This does not fit into the vision of love based on emotion or physical desires. It is beyond all of that. True love is faithful too the end. God was faithful through the ages with His creations, US. He never gave up on us or abandoned us because of our sins. He didn't ignore our plight because the place we call home was riddled with sin that permeates all that is in it. Instead He sent His son to lift the veil placed over our eyes to reveal his graces of forgiveness. No sex involved, no emotional highs or lows, just a loving father calling his sons and daughters to Him. Read the passages of 1 Corinthians above again and know that Our father is all of these things and more. He has been with us through all of our trials and tribulations no matter what they were or are. Few of us can say that about our relationships with others, including our Father in heaven. It is why marriages end for most within the first ten years. Commitment is in the wrong place and much of the things Corinthians tells us love is about are absent in our relationships. God is a tough act to follow but His is the only example that is pure and forever. We should be living with all of the traits of our Lord ever in mind.
More next week.
May the Good Lord bless and keep you safe.
Rememkber to "Always Love The Details."