Love Never Dies

Love never dies. -1 Corinthians 13:8 (Message)

Not many of our earthly activities will translate into eternity. In fact, most of what you’ll do today won’t be on your agenda when you’re in heaven.

There won’t be any need to swing by the dry cleaners, no soccer practices, no car lines at the kid’s school, no last-minute dashes to the supermarket, no trips to the vet, and no rush-hour commutes. But there is something that will translate into our heavenly existence, and that’s love.

Love will never die. It’s as eternal as God is, and it will be ever-present in His everlasting kingdom. One day, the material universe as we know it will pass away, yet love will endure. Time will suddenly cease, yet love will continue on. If you’ve been born again, if you’re looking to Jesus as your sole source of salvation, if you’re a new creation in Christ-love will be with you forever.
What’s the point? Since love is going to be a big part of our eternal occupation, it only makes sense that we commit to it now. The more fluent we are in God’s agape love here on earth, the more prepared we’ll be for what will come so naturally to us there. Besides, earth is never more heavenly than when the love of God is on full volume in our hearts.

Don’t let love be something that you’ll eventually get around to. Don’t put it off for later. Let love, the self-less and unconditional love of God, invade and dominate your heart right now. Invest in a loving lifestyle and you can be sure to reap a return in heaven.

Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT)

Small Group Time: Discuss, Dig, Decide

Discuss as a group the meaning of this statement: Earth is never more heavenly than when the love of God is on full volume in our hearts. Share a time when you’ve seen this happen.

Dig into Galatians 5:13-14. What’s the specific instruction God is giving you here? What is it that keeps you from obeying this verse? What would be the results of you obeying this command?

Decide as a group to reflect back on this month’s lessons. Spend some time sharing which particular devotions moved you to a deeper love for God and a deeper love for others. Share how you are different now as a result of God loving you and you loving others.

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Total Trust

“…to another faith by the same Spirit…(1 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

As we have seen, there are different spiritual gifts that are given by God that, to a degree, are also reflections of God. It makes sense, therefore, that the more these gifts are operating in our lives, the more we will be like our Lord. Among these gifts is the gift of faith. The faith referred to here is not the saving faith that people exercise when they trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is a different type of faith that comes into play after salvation and during our walk. It is the supernatural infusion of assurance in God’s ability to work in and through us at a specific point in time in a specific situation. It could also be called a God-given sense of total trust.

There’s a great example of this gift at work in Acts 3. As Peter and John were heading into the temple to offer prayers, they encountered a man who had been crippled from birth. This man’s only hope of survival was to beg for alms, but when Peter and John passed by, his begging was met by something completely unexpected. The Bible tells us that Peter fixed his eyes on the man, and in a moment that must have required the infusion of supernatural confidence in God, Peter publicly called the man to rise up and walk. To the astonishment of the crowd that had gathered as well as this man, he stood up and walked. God desired to do something special in this man’s life, and to the natural mind, Peter’s words must have seemed insane. But when the gift of faith is given, God’s people are filled with a total trust in Him, no matter how impossible it might seem.

Christ completely trusted in the Father in all things, even when it involved unspeakable suffering on the cross (Matthew 26:39). When the gift of faith is flowing in and through us, we echo the total trust shared within the Godhead. What a wonderful way to be just like Him!

Questions to Ponder

• Why does God give the gift of faith, and how does it make us more like Him?
• What are some other biblical examples of the gift of faith?

This Bible Study was prepared by Pastor Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale.