How to Discover a Love That Lasts
Have you ever experienced heartbreak and continue to struggle to find a love that lasts?
Valentine’s Day is here—the day of love. The stores are stocking their aisles with heart shaped candy, boxed chocolate assortments, and stuffed animals. Flower sales are skyrocketing.
Although this is a season when we usually celebrate the people we love, many find themselves dealing with heartbreak, loneliness, and even depression.
“A new Yahoo! survey found that between the December holidays and Valentine’s Day, people are more than twice as likely to consider breaking up than any other time of the year” (ABC News).
For many, this time of year brings up mixed feelings and unanswered questions. Is there really such a thing as true love? Is there somebody out there who loves me? How do you discover a love that lasts?
Love Has a Name
Have you ever wanted a relationship to last forever?
Maybe you’ve experienced the pain and heartache of a broken relationship. If so, it can taint your view of love. Our past relationships can darken our belief of whether or not true love is possible.
Is it possible to have a love that lasts?
The reality is that love is not only possible—it is a reality. Love is a person. His name is Jesus Christ. He is 100% man and 100% God. He is not just a representation of love—He is LOVE.
What is love?
According to 1 John 4:8, God is love. Verses 9-12 (VOICE) tell us,
Because of this, the love of God is a reality among us: God sent His only Son into the world so that we could find true life through Him. This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins. So, my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another. No one has ever seen God with human eyes; but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently, God’s love has accomplished its mission among us.
My Forever Valentine
God loves us. His love is forever; it’s eternal. He loves us so much that Jesus became the ultimate martyr. He was innocent, yet He paid the price for our wrongdoing. Jesus conquered death so that we could be His forever valentine. Those who accept His gift of forgiveness become the Bride of Christ and will spend eternity with Him.
Love wasn’t meant to be short-lived. Love wasn’t designed to be fickle.
Our society has painted love in so many colors that do not express its truth. First Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV) best describe what love really looks like:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
Loving Each Other
So what does this teach us about loving one another?
In John 13:34 (NIV), Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
God commands us to love one another in the same manner that He loves us. His desire for us is that we are patient, kind, and forgiving with one another. Loving our friends doesn’t mean letting them continue down a path that is going to harm them or, worse, going down it with them. Loving those in our lives requires honesty, transparency, and trust while at the same time letting go of bitterness, fear, and jealousy.
This Valentine’s season, I want to encourage you to focus on God’s kind of love. We cannot give what we do not possess.
Ask God to fill you with His love. Ask Him to give you a revelation about His unending and never failing love for you. You’ll find that as you become more secure in the reality of God’s love, you’ll be able to love others well. Let’s spend time getting to know our forever Valentine and sharing His love with those around us.
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