Love Never Ends

“Nothing lasts forever,” we say when a relationship ends, or a long-standing institution closes its doors. I’ve said it to children when beloved toys wear out or a sibling “ruins” another’s artistic masterpiece of the moment.

This wisdom is echoed several times over by the teacher of Ecclesiastes:

Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

But some things do last forever. God, mathematics, taxation, and... love. The Apostle Paul makes a simple statement and profound application concerning love’s nature when he says:

Love faileth never. (1 Corinthians 13:8)

A Simple Statement

Paul’s use of the Greek language is so clear and simple, it’s almost emphatic. “Love never ends” is a sentence so simple a toddler could learn it. And, love’s perpetuity shouts at us from the failings all around us.

Your Adirondack deck chair at the lake is fifteen years old and weather-beaten. It finally crumples under your weight. Furniture fails… love never does.

Your best friend tells you he’s taken a new job in Kalamazoo. You’ll try to stay in touch, but you both know it won’t be the same. Relationships may change or even fail… but love itself never does.

Ecclesiastes’ Teacher weaves an incredible list: Exquisite houses and gardens. Servants, power, and freedom from labor. A diverse portfolio of wealth—livestock, gold, and other valuables. And all that delights the sons of man… all of these fail. Love faileth never.

A Profound Application

But the Apostle Paul has a specific point in mind. He wants love to govern all that happens in the lives of the Corinthian church and their ministry together.

Prophecies and tongues will cease; even the partial knowledge we possess will pass away when the perfect comes, and we see Christ face to face.

So stop fighting to be the smartest, most eloquent, most successful Corinthian on the block. Whatever success you get — and praise God for smarts, eloquence, and success in the church! — will be swept up into the fullness of God’s glory. But if we love one another, then our gifts serve an eternal purpose: love that never ends.

That’s the point, really: love doesn’t remove giftedness from the local church; it gives our gifts meaning, purpose, direction, context, and it safeguards against our arrogance.

Remember in all these things that there isn’t much room for competition (selfish ambition or rivalry) in the kingdom of God. His kingdom is a world of love.

When a brother or sister offends you, be patient and strive to show them kindness in their weaknesses. Whether the church down the street flourishes or falters, we shouldn’t envy them, nor boast. If the person next to you on Sunday has a sensitive conscience, cherish them; your kindness to them will outlast all your earthly freedoms. Grudges won’t make it to heaven; don’t be irritable or resentful.

What’s more, only love can secure and sustain all of our giftedness and efforts in life and ministry from the ugliness of sin. Gifts matter, knowledge matters, ministry matters. But without love, all the greatest achievements sound like noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. Paul teaches us that the way we love one another will outlast them all.