Love Is Eternal
“Suffering passes, while love is eternal. That’s a gift that you have received from God. Don’t waste it.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
There is one thing we all discover early on in our lives and that is that suffering is a part of our human condition. There are many people who suffer and suffer greatly. Their suffering is chronic. Their constant pain gives them little, if any, relief. Their days are spent longing for some kind of remediation that they know will not come. I truly feel for those people.
At the same time, their chronic suffering colors the way they perceive and interact with the world. Some view everything distastefully and with hostility. Others view their lot in life as bearable compared to others whom they know suffer greater. Spiritually, there are even others who embrace what some call redemptive suffering. They see their suffering as a gift from God and they offer their pain to God for the intercession of others.
One of the things people who suffer chronic conditions share is the view that one day their suffering will end. They know that suffering is a part of this temporal, tainted, broken world. They also know that they will not carry their suffering with them into eternity. At the moment of their death, they leave their suffering behind and go into a realm of peace and happiness absolutely devoid of any kind of pain or anguish.
They go into the realm of love. Yes. God is love and His love is eternal. His love promises peace and joy and reunion with others who have gone before us. His love promises union with Him. His love makes all the suffering that we may have to endure in this world worth it.
If you suffer a chronic condition, pray for others who may suffer worse than you do and place your suffering in the hands of God. He will shoulder your burden and walk with you if you allow Him to do so. He will do all of this because He is love and His love will never fail us.
FAITH ACTION: Take time in prayer today simply to thank God for His incredible love for you.