"Charity never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:8a)
Personally, I think the KJV's, "charity," describes the love of the Living God best. Too many think of "love" as a feeling. "Charity," on the other hand is simply giving, a giving with no "strings attached," nothing the other person has to do or can do to earn, "charity." The concept of, "charity," is giving, and John 3:16 describes the love/charity of God best. "God loved the world thusly, He gave...."
"Well I gave and gave and gave to that relationship, but got nothing back." Sound familiar? According to the Bible, the love of God just keeps giving and giving and giving even when He gets nothing from humanity, and there have been many times in my life when our Lord Jesus Christ got little or nothing "back" for His love to me. Yet as Psalm 136 repeats over and over, "His love endures forever."
The story of the prodigal reveals that a person who descended into the abyss of life, just took from his father and gave nothing back but a broken, penniless beggar. And what did the father do when he saw him, "a great way off"? He had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." This, my friend, is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whether we are some "superhero-saint," some famous and popular leader in the Church, or, just some ordinary personage, the love of Our Father, Our Immanuel, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit never decreases or increases. "God is love," period. Maybe people doubt the love of God for them because they mistake His love for the only kind of love they have known: conditional. No matter what you and I do, the love of God does not change. There is no degree of love in the Godhead. He, "IS Love."
Father, thank You that Your love is unconditional. May mine be also. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2"
Hebrews 12:2"
