by:  Cris Corzine-McCloskey

I must say, 2020 is going to go down as one for the record books! Never before heard phrases like “social distancing” and “shelter-in-place” have now become a part of our lexicon. Oddly enough, all this social distancing and being home-bound is creating a common bond across the World.

It’s also bringing out the best in some people and the worst in others. But I have faith in our Community. We are people of love and loyalty for our families and each other. I believe this time will force us to slow down and hold tight to the things that really matter in life, like faith, hope, and love. Those are Jesus traits, and the Bible says those three things will endure when all else fades away. It also states love never fails.

Did you know the Bible says God is love? It doesn’t say God HAS love; it says God IS love. So when Scriptures say love never fails, we could easily interpret that to mean God never fails. It’s not in His nature. And He doesn’t see us as a bunch of failures who are down here in need a good smiting to get us back in line, so along comes a plague to teach us a lesson. That’s not what love does.

There is a place in Scripture where God’s kind of love is defined. It’s in 1 Corinthians 13, and it says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Since God is love, we could read that as God is patient, kind, humble, honoring, easy-going, and not holding stuff against us. He is also not trying to bully anyone into getting His own way, and He despises evil and is protective over us. So, at the risk of being redundant, I want to state this one more time, God will not fail us when we have placed our trust in Jesus.

That doesn’t mean things will always look rosy. These are tough times. I operate a small business. This is hitting my staff, and I just as hard as the rest of you. But my hope is not in my small business, or my bank account, or the economy. It is in a God who loved the World so much He sent His Son to die a criminal’s death, so He could save us from our sin. I have faith in Jesus, and that gives me hope in a Love that is stronger than the grave. See, faith, hope, and love work together.

In closing, I want to share with you a passage by a guy who was no stranger to hard times and house arrest. The Apostle Paul. This is found in Romans 8:38-39, The Passion Translation: “So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!”

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