Have you ever been in love? If you have, you’ve probably considered classifying the feeling as an addiction.  Well, guess what? You were right. That’s why we all look like a bunch of drug addicts when we’re falling in love! As it turns out, scientists have discovered that the same chemical process that takes place with addictions takes place when we fall in love. 

It doesn’t take long, however, to find that love needs to be more than just a euphoric feeling. It’s not just about gazing into someone’s eyes; it’s about gazing in the direction God’s calling them to and promising to help them reach that place of fulfillment. Though the physical may fade, God’s purposes for your relationship will continue to grow as you both seek to love each other with God’s lasting love rather than your own, physical love.

Paul reveals the key to how this love works in 1 Corinthians 13:8 when he says, “Love never fails.” He is showing us that the difference between the love of Christ and the love of man is that Christ’s love is unfailing.  Through every season of life God loves us just the same, and that’s the kind of love He wants us to show each other.  Of course, this love takes work because we all face different challenges and live with different callings in our lives. In the end, though, there is only one thing that will either make us feel like a success or a failure, and that is whether we released the unfailing love of Christ into the lives of those around us.

I recently read an excerpt from 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern’s book titled Terry: My Daughter's Life-And-Death Struggle with Alcoholism. In this book, he recalls the day his daughter froze to death in a snow drift as well as the events leading up to her death.  After her passing, McGovern began to pour through his daughter's diaries and ask her friends about what really mattered to her.  What he found caused him to intently rethink his life. 

McGovern discovered that though his daughter greatly admired his intelligence and heart for people, she greatly missed his presence in her own life. The 18 hour days he worked in order to advance his political career sent inconsistent messages to her, causing her to be uncertain of her significance in his eyes. You see, McGovern did not quite understand this principle of love-- that it is not what you can do for someone but how you love them that counts.

So I encourage you to work on adopting this type of love that Paul explains to us in 1 Corinthians 13. Make an effort to love with a consistent, dependable love. We’ll all need help at some point, but that is where the power is. By allowing God to work through each of us, we will begin to discover his plan for us, and together we can fully experience this life of love!