Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
God is Love.
God never fails.
When we love others, we are sharing God.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:14
And this love will not fail.
WILL. NOT! FAIL !!
We cannot tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed.
As in filling a vessel drop by drop,
there is at last a drop
which makes it run over,
so in a series of kindnesses
there is at last one
that makes the heart run over.
— Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
And so it was with me and Marilyn.
She married my junior high school friend.
We were thrown together and we “grinned and bore it” for a number of years.
We were friends—just not close friends.
But then…
…A true friendship was born and forged through the fire of the dissolution of a marriage.
A phone call was made.
A phone call (from me) that I can tell you was very difficult.
It was an act of obedience.
An act of the God-kind of love.
A reaching out into the ashes to grasp the hand— (A LIFELINE!!!) —with Love—the love coming from God’s heart (not so much mine at the time—-I’m being honest) to a broken heart, a broken life.
It was that “last drop of kindness” that caused Marilyn’s bruised and protected heart to soften and open.
It was a pivotal point in all the ways that mattered.
A softened and surrendered heart to God. Not to me. To God.
His Love reached out to her through me!
I was merely the vessel He used.
But Love passing through a vessel does not leave the vessel untouched. Love residue was everywhere! Glory!
And, so, the foundation was built—-the true rock-solid beginning of our friendship.
It was built on the very Love of God.
{ Wow. How awesome is THAT foundation?? }
Spiritual union between two believers is a very real experience although it is not easily explained. ~ Jeanne Guyon
What did I learn?
That we do need to continue those acts of kindnesses and unconditional love even when we don’t see any cracks or softening.
And even when we don’t feel like it.
Common ground can be found.
If nothing else we find the common ground of love.
The love of God and the love between people.
And Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8)
The heart that finally opens and allows itself to be filled with Love will also overflow into the lives of others.
We may never see the fruit of our plantings.
But we need to do our part.
“After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.” 1 Corinthians 3:4-8
Marilyn and I were rewarded with a deeply rooted friendship.
Common ground—-lots of common ground other than love—appeared for Marilyn and me.
The seed was planted.
It was watered and cultivated for many years through our long conversations, our laughter, and our tears.
God caused the seed to grow. (read the above scripture again)
And later… we were able to relax under the sheltering tree of true friendship that had grown over us.
Friendship is a sheltering tree. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Never ever give up.
Never ever stop loving…
…because Love never fails.
Never.
definition of never:
* at no time in the past or future; on no occasion; not ever *
Think about that again. LOVE NEVER FAILS ! NEVER— at no time, on no occasion, not ever—in the past or future—NOT EVER!
That’s quite a guarantee—backed up by…GOD!!
Let’s get busy loving. Because it never fails. Never.
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2
I miss you Marilyn…
But I will see you again. In our perfect home where you now reside…
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Jesus (John 14:2)
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a Self-Centered World ~ Karen Ehman
Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World ~ Bob Goff
Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ~ Bob Goff
Love as a Way of Life: Seven Keys to Transforming Every Aspect of Your Life ~ Gary Chapman
LINK: Love So Amazing…