Love NEVER fails!
In our teaching in our Victorious Christian Living School of Ministry last night we discussed verse 8 of 1 Corinthians 13 concerning the agape love of God. In that verse we read this: LOVE NEVER FAILS.
When I looked up the word fail in the Strong’s Concordance, this is what I found. It is the Greek word ekpipto and here are the meanings listed: to drop away, to be driven out of one’s course, to lose, become inefficient, be cast, fall, fall (away, off), take none effect.
Let’s look at each of these meanings. God’s Agape Love will never drop away from you. He is always there. Since God is Love and Love is God, Love is always there. God’s Love will never drive you off course, off the plan for your life. Just the opposite is true. God’s Love will keep you on course because when you walk in His Love, you are walking in Him. And when you are walking in Him, you are walking in what He has ordained for your life. You will never lose when you yield to God’s Love in your life. It makes you a winner and not a loser. God’s Love is not inefficient. Inefficient is to be disorderly and unorganized, lacking excellence. So, when you yield to God’s Love, you are yielding to efficiency and order in your life, which produces excellence. You and I will never be cast off from God’s Love. He does not make us castaways from His Love, no never. God’s Love will never fall away or fall off. The only way you can get away from God’s Love is when you ignore it yourself or don’t desire to walk in it or don’t walk in it. And last, God’s Love will never be of no effect. It not only affects you. It affects everyone around you. People will notice that you are different, especially when you don’t react the way they do to situations and circumstances and to people’s ugliness toward you.
In 1 John we read that God is Love and Love is God. God dwells in you and me in the person of the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in us. He, God, Love is in us now. So where does that put us if Love, Who is God, Who dwells in us never fails? That means we will never fail if we yield to agape Love in any circumstance or situation. God Who is Love, loves to take care of us and do things for us. He is a loving, caring Heavenly Father. He enjoys doing things for His kids. He is our Source and our All in All.
When I looked in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, I saw many definitions for fail. Some of the ones that stand out are these: to be entirely wanting, to become deficient, to be insufficient, to miss, not to produce the effect, to fall short, to disappoint, to cease or to neglect. If you look in that dictionary, you will also find many other definitions of fail, but I have selected the ones that I believe would apply to this verse. Look at all these words and place them in the verse.
The Love of God, Agape Love, NEVER leaves you in want, does not produce deficiencies, is not insufficient to supply your need, doesn’t fall short, doesn’t disappoint you or cease or neglect you. Agape Love does not miss taking care of you nor is it ineffective, producing no effect in your life.
Now, having said all this, where are you today in your Love walk? All of us need to take a fresh and new look every day at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, especially in the Amplified Bible. When we are walking in the Love of God, Agape Love, we are walking in God’s power, which supplies all our need and doesn’t leave us wanting. If we are wanting, the first place we should check is the place Agape Love has in our lives. We need to check up on what we are yielding to. Are we yielding to our flesh when things don’t go our way? Are we yielding to our flesh when it looks less than perfect in our lives? Are we complaining about God not answering our prayers? Are we fretful and resentful toward those who have mistreated us or talked “ugly” about us? Are we fed up with people and situations which have drug on forever? All of us have plenty of room for improvement. So, before we blame God for unanswered prayer, we need to do a checkup on LOVE, because LOVE NEVER FAILS.
When I looked up the word fail in the Strong’s Concordance, this is what I found. It is the Greek word ekpipto and here are the meanings listed: to drop away, to be driven out of one’s course, to lose, become inefficient, be cast, fall, fall (away, off), take none effect.
Let’s look at each of these meanings. God’s Agape Love will never drop away from you. He is always there. Since God is Love and Love is God, Love is always there. God’s Love will never drive you off course, off the plan for your life. Just the opposite is true. God’s Love will keep you on course because when you walk in His Love, you are walking in Him. And when you are walking in Him, you are walking in what He has ordained for your life. You will never lose when you yield to God’s Love in your life. It makes you a winner and not a loser. God’s Love is not inefficient. Inefficient is to be disorderly and unorganized, lacking excellence. So, when you yield to God’s Love, you are yielding to efficiency and order in your life, which produces excellence. You and I will never be cast off from God’s Love. He does not make us castaways from His Love, no never. God’s Love will never fall away or fall off. The only way you can get away from God’s Love is when you ignore it yourself or don’t desire to walk in it or don’t walk in it. And last, God’s Love will never be of no effect. It not only affects you. It affects everyone around you. People will notice that you are different, especially when you don’t react the way they do to situations and circumstances and to people’s ugliness toward you.
In 1 John we read that God is Love and Love is God. God dwells in you and me in the person of the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in us. He, God, Love is in us now. So where does that put us if Love, Who is God, Who dwells in us never fails? That means we will never fail if we yield to agape Love in any circumstance or situation. God Who is Love, loves to take care of us and do things for us. He is a loving, caring Heavenly Father. He enjoys doing things for His kids. He is our Source and our All in All.
When I looked in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, I saw many definitions for fail. Some of the ones that stand out are these: to be entirely wanting, to become deficient, to be insufficient, to miss, not to produce the effect, to fall short, to disappoint, to cease or to neglect. If you look in that dictionary, you will also find many other definitions of fail, but I have selected the ones that I believe would apply to this verse. Look at all these words and place them in the verse.
The Love of God, Agape Love, NEVER leaves you in want, does not produce deficiencies, is not insufficient to supply your need, doesn’t fall short, doesn’t disappoint you or cease or neglect you. Agape Love does not miss taking care of you nor is it ineffective, producing no effect in your life.
Now, having said all this, where are you today in your Love walk? All of us need to take a fresh and new look every day at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, especially in the Amplified Bible. When we are walking in the Love of God, Agape Love, we are walking in God’s power, which supplies all our need and doesn’t leave us wanting. If we are wanting, the first place we should check is the place Agape Love has in our lives. We need to check up on what we are yielding to. Are we yielding to our flesh when things don’t go our way? Are we yielding to our flesh when it looks less than perfect in our lives? Are we complaining about God not answering our prayers? Are we fretful and resentful toward those who have mistreated us or talked “ugly” about us? Are we fed up with people and situations which have drug on forever? All of us have plenty of room for improvement. So, before we blame God for unanswered prayer, we need to do a checkup on LOVE, because LOVE NEVER FAILS.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 7:40 AM
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