JANUARY 1

GOD’S LOVE WILL LAST

Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:8, NIV

The verb Paul uses for the word fail is used elsewhere to describe the demise of a flower as it falls to the ground, withers, and decays. It carries the meaning of death and abolishment. God’s love, says the apostle, will never fall to the ground, wither, and decay. By its nature, it is permanent. It is never abolished.

Governments will fail, but God’s love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out. But his love never will.

How could god have a love like this? No one has unfailing love. No person can love with perfection. You’re right. No person can. But God is not a person. Unlike our love, his never fails. His love is immensely different from ours.

A Love worth Giving

JANUARY 2

HEAVEN-FILLED THOUGHTS

Let heaven fill your thoughts.
Do not think only about things down here on earth.
Colossians 3:2, NLT

My daughters have long since stopped doing this, but there was a time when they celebrated my daily arrival. Jenna was five years old, Andrea three. Denalyn would alert them, and they would scamper to the window, pressing noses and hands against the tall pane that paralleled the front door. As I pulled into the drive, I would see them: Andrea and Jenna, a head taller then her sister, squeezed into the frame. Seeing me, they squealed. My, how they jumped and clapped. You’d think someone had switched their M&M’s for coffee beans. No returning Caesar ever felt more welcomed. As I opend the door, they tackled my knees and flooded the entryway with tsunami-size joy.

Their father was home.

It’s been too long since I searched for God that way. Too seldom do I hear thunder and think, Is that God? I’ve been known to let a day, even two, pass without a glance to the eastern sky.

Come Thirsty