Daily Devotional for Friday, August 8

The Invincibility of Love

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity,”

1 Corinthians 13:13.

Planned obsolescence. You may or may not have heard this term, but you have certainly felt this term. Planned obsolescence is the planned and designed function of something, typically technology, to fail and become obsolete over time so that it must be replaced with a newer version. It is the story of your cell phone and computer. It seems that a phone or computer is built to be functional for only a few short months. (I had originally written “years,” but then I remembered that most smartphones last less than two years.) Because of changes of technology, changes of storage needs and many other factors, phones seem to be designed to wear out with a need for replacement. It feels like they are designed or planned to become obsolete just so you have to buy a new one.

            I am thankful that there are some things built to last. A well-built and properly serviced car can run for twenty years and more. A house can endure one hundred years or more. Stone walls, well maintained, can last hundreds of years. Humans travel around the world to look at old things like castles and cathedrals. We appreciate lasting structures.

            And we appreciate a love that endures. I am grateful every time I hear of a fiftieth wedding anniversary. I celebrate with churches that have been around for a hundred years and more. I rejoiced in reading in our passage that love endures. Faith and hope are long-lasting as well, but love endures the longest. When faith as we know it is no longer needed and when hope is fully realized, love will continue on.

            True, biblical love lasts and endures. When everything else seems to purposefully fall apart around you, take comfort in the planned invincibility of love.

REFLECTION

Our love and our comprehension of love grow as we age and will continue to grow into eternity.

Jason Rutherford