Love Never Fails

Does anything last forever? What does? The apostle Paul says that the thing that lasts is love. It can legitimately be claimed that the phrase "love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8) really belongs to the next paragraph in the passage. But because it is frequently quoted as part of the description of love and  does have something to tell us about the nature of love, I have decided to include it here. The main point is that while the spiritual gifts are temporary, love lasts forever (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). This is because there will come a time when we will know God directly and no longer need to be instructed (1Corinthians 13:12). It makes sense that love should be the thing that endures, because it is the basis for all Christian character, being the command on which all the others are based (Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 13:8-10; James 2:8). Also, love is the basis of relationships, our relationship with God and relationships with other people, and this is also something that lasts forever (1 Thessalonians 2:19; Titus 2:14; Revelation 3:12). Therefore, we should cultivate love, for it is the thing that will last when all others have passed away.