Love Is the Greatest Gift

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Love never fails. I Corinthians 13

Yes the greatest of these gifts of the spirit is Love.  Love of mankind in general, love of an animal, love of God, Love of family, yes, Love is the greatest gift.  When we lose someone we love it causes great emotional pain.  It creates a deep sense of loss within us and creates emptiness.  In the end love must endure all.   

Clark just lost his Grandmother; Gail and Carla and their sisters lost their Mother. I lost my Parents four years ago and although it doesn’t ever go away it does get easier.  Our family recently lost a family pet that had been a part of our family for years.  Today we buried one of the newest members of our family, Patton, Hilary and Andrew’s puppy who was killed by a vicious attack from a pit bull.

We grieve, we continue on, we heal, we love.  And the greatest of these is love.  I am thankful I serve a God who loves us and will never leave us regardless of what we go through.  He is there to help us to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.  He gives us faith. 

Lord, help us today to realize the extent of your love for us as we examine the extent of the love we have for others, both human and animal, in our lives.  Help us to understand how much greater your love is for us then we could ever imagine.  Thank you for giving us the capacity to love even a fraction of how you love us.