1 Peter 4:7–11 ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ (vv8–10)
Three short words, ‘I love you’, birth and sustain all successful relationships. Spoken with authenticity they deepen trust and affection. Even when frequently said their value doesn’t depreciate.
Love is the elixir of relationships. Love is dependable for, ‘love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’ (1 Cor. 13:6–7). Love will not fail us despite the tests it’s exposed to.
Remarkably, love grows deeper year on year, for the people we love. Also true of our love for God, who we discover through love, and we can enjoy a daily deepening of His love for us and ours for Him, until love itself lies beyond words. It just is!
Bycock reports that when experiencing sudden loss, people vividly remember their final conversation. There are regrets, words left unsaid that can never be spoken. Don’t hold back on expressing your love, or leave home with cross words.
Science reveals that love can last and offers many benefits. Helen Fisher and colleagues at Stony Brook University demonstrated romantic love causes a surge of brain activity in areas rich in dopamine, our feel good chemical, producing a positive impact on family, friends and our Christian life.
Love is only ever freely given and received. We cannot manufacture it. Love requires nurture or it dies. It can cover a multitude of sins just as God loves us despite our sinful fracture. God invites us to live in, and as ambassadors of, love.
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:
S. of S. 8:5–7; Zeph. 3:9–17; Rom. 5:1–11; 1 John 4:13–21
AN ACTION TO TAKE:
You can experience and practice love
because of God’s love for you.
Will you express love through
justice, compassion, friendship, and
service of God? Let your love never fail.
A PRAYER TO MAKE:
‘Lord, help me to express my love daily
to those I care about, and seek to
avoid harsh or angry words on
parting from family and friends. Amen.’
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
