Love Corner: Love endures

Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:8

"The race is not for the swift, but for those who can endure." and of all things, Love Corner reminds you that endurance is ultimate. No matter the challenges, threats, mistreatment, or rejection, love keeps pursuing and moving forward, it refuses to give up.

Although you may get weary along the way, remember, love never fails. Love that is from God is unending and unstoppable. If the object of its affection doesn't choose to receive it, love keeps giving anyway.

When you have done everything within your power to obey God, your spouse may still forsake you and walk away, just as Jesus' followers did to Him. If your marriage fails, and your spouse walks away, let it not be because you gave up or stopped loving them.

Of the nine Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5, the first is love. Because the unchanging Holy Spirit is its source, then the love He creates in you is unchanging as well. It is based on the will of God, the calling of God, and the Word of God - all unchanging things.

Along the way, you have been encouraged to be patient, to be unselfish, and to make sacrifices for your partner's needs. These are not just loving ideas, existing in isolation. Each quality of love is based on the love of God, captured and expressed in the Word of God - the unchanging Word of God. Therefore, your love - made of the same substance - bears the same unchanging characteristics.

Declare unfailing love

So today, put your unfailing love into the most powerful, personal words you can. This is your chance to declare that no matter what imperfections exist - both in you and in your spouse - your love is greater still. No matter what they have done or how often they have done it, you choose to love them anyway. Though you have been far from steady in your treatment of them over the years, your days of being inconsistent in love are over. You accept this one man or woman as a special gift to you, and you promise to love them until death.

Spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of commitment and resolve to your spouse. Include why you are committed to the marriage, and that you have purposed to love them, no matter what. Leave it in a place where they will find it.