Love never fails

Recently, I watched the film Quartet again. It is a funny and moving story surrounding an old people’s home for retired musicians. What a lovely idea. Every year they hold a concert to raise funds for the home and every musician who is still able takes part.

Into this scenario comes a retired diva to live in the home, once married to one of the other residents. The air crackles with tension which is gently resolved. The finale is four of the finest operatic voices from their day singing the Quartet from Rigoletto.

 

I love the film which is extremely witty and filled with uplifting music. However I knew nothing about the opera Rigoletto or its storyline. I was shocked therefore to discover it is all about the debauched court of an Italian duke. It is bawdy and frankly vulgar as well as being a story of betrayal, revenge and murder. It is a true tragedy.

 

How can such a terrible tale have such wonderful music? Everything evil wrapped around by everything enriching and beautiful. How can it be?

 

I immediately thought of the Garden of Eden – God’s paradise on Earth. Totally beautiful, perfect and everything that is good into which comes evil incarnate. Why did God permit the devil to enter his perfect world?

 

The answer is love.

 

William Shakespeare wrote ‘Love is not love that alters when alteration finds.’

 

God is love and he does not change even when evil comes into his perfect world.  True love is not fickle, it doesn’t give up. As we read 1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 8, we see what true love is really like.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸ Love never fails.

The reality is that love has to be freely given and freely received.  Love permits terrible choices to be made - to choose evil over good even though the consequences are terrible.

 

God allowed the devil to deceive Eve even though the outworking would be tragic. If he had stopped her or not let the devil into the Garden, it would be a form of manipulation and control, not love. Eve’s decision, freely made, led to the destruction of so much of God’s incredible creation and cost the life of his Son.  

 

But love always wins. Romans 12: 21 says, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Love overcomes even terrible wickedness. In the end God will have his way – he will restore his beautiful creation, planet Earth to the perfection he always intended. This time evil will be completely destroyed and Man, the highest of God’s creation, his redeemed ones who have freely chosen him, will inhabit this restored world for all eternity.

 

It never fails to move me deeply. The perfect Son of God killed in the most barbaric manner in order to save his wayward, sinful and uncaring creation, Man. That is true love.

Human beings or human doings?

I am sure we are all familiar with the concept that we are human beings not human doings, by which we mean that it is more important who we are and our character than what we do.

This idea came out of a desire to counterbalance the false thinking that we can earn our way into heaven or God’s favour by what we do. Salvation is by faith in Christ alone and is a gift of grace. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve God’s love and salvation. 

There is another true but perhaps not so helpful saying that you can never do anything to increase or take away God’s love for you. This does not mean however that we do not need to do anything or that works of service are unimportant.

God’s love towards us is constant and never fails. Nothing we say or do changes this but times spent with Jesus increase our awareness of that love. This is never wasted time. It is in this place of intimacy that we both receive and give love. It is here that we can be honest with God and ourselves and let him bring healing and freedom from sin.  It is here that we hear from him, we learn and are inspired and it is from here that our works of love and service flow.

Some believers in the early Church were convinced they did not need to do anything as long as they had faith. James, the Lord’s brother, had something to say about that.

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2: 14 – 18

James firmly shows that out faith needs actions.

In everything Jesus is our example  - God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10: 38

Jesus had the most intimate relationship with the Father but he showed his love for others by what he did and so must we. He loved them through teaching but also through signs, wonders and miracles. Jesus expressed his love to the tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners – so must we.

The amazing statement ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19: 10) was spoken in the context of Jesus visiting Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was fond of stealing from people.  Jesus showed his love by coming to Zacchaeus’ home. Many criticised his actions but Jesus’ life was one long faith in action one.

We are indeed human beings and who we are is incredibly important. Character matters but so do our actions, as long as they flow out of a love relationship with Jesus and not out of some misguided desire to impress or win favour with either God or man. Doing God’s love is a powerful way of showing God’s love.