Sometimes one may wonder, “Why did she fall in love with him?” or “is there love that will last forever?” Personally, I don’t remember a specific date or time I fell in love but it is easier proven over time. It is not about a specific moment of gifting during a birthday celebration or anniversary but rather a collection of moments – the remembering of special dates, doing the laundry, making a meal, getting supper and running errands. It is an accumulation of the little things in life that could possibly make the life of the other half better. It is not about a specific event nor intensity of a particular moment but consistency. Love is a measure of how we are able to do things repeatedly day in day out for others unconditionally.
One can take an example of this all-encompassing love from God.
Love is Generous
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. This is how God showed His love for us, that He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God but He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Love is Self-Sacrificial
Matthew 20:27-28 – “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom to many”.
Though Jesus was God, He did not demand His right as God on Earth but showed His love by showing the way and sacrificed Himself for our sins. He also demonstrated servant leadership in everything He did (Philippians 2:6-8).
Love is Unending
Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” Jesus’ love for us is not one with conditions that we need to fulfil. Even before we acknowledged God’s love for us, and being dead in sin, He had already put in motion a plan to save us. (Romans 5:8) This unchanging quality of God requires that His love for us is unconditional and unchanging. We see evidence of His love in the past and in the present. We can take comfort from that and be assured that it will be the same in future.
How can one be forever loved?
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 – “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things. Love never fails.”
Humanity has always struggled to define love and has constantly redefined it. But God’s definition is clear and will never change. God’s love is generous, self-sacrificing and unending. 1 John 4:8 - “God is love”.