Love Conquers All

March 22

Love conquers all. - Virgil

If only Virgil were right. If only love could transcend all that's wrong on this fallen planet and every animosity, rooted in every human heart, could be defeated by that one sweeping affirmation of the power of the one thing the Bible tells us is the greatest fruit of the Spirit which will abide forever (see I Corinthians 13:8). If even the Word of God that cannot fail and cannot lie tells us that "Love never fails," what's wrong here? What's the basis for the discrepancy between what the pens of poets acclaim and what the Word of God affirms—and the 'reality' we see all around us?

If love conquers all, if love cannot fail, then why do men wallow in hatred and disdain for their fellow man? Why is the divorce rate at 50%? Why do broken children rebel against their parents? Why do neighbors mistrust each other and why must borders be guarded? There is no single answer to any of those questions but part of the answer is that men do not believe that love can accomplish what it is purported to do—and in their disbelief, they don’t give love a chance.

Perhaps this is so because they equate love to the fickle emotion they bear within themselves. Their own love is rooted in the lust of the eyes and the desires of the flesh and the pride of life (I John 2:16). Human love is selfish and introspective. It appears to conquer all when it attains the object of its yearning. But human love wanes. Human love does not stand the test to which it is put. Human love cannot endure the refiner's fire. When the novelty wears off, when disappointments come, human love is revealed to be the beggarly counterfeit of real love that it is.

So the Word of God is true when it says, "Love never fails." But it is true only of the love of God—the love that was evidenced by Jesus Christ who died on the cross so man could live eternally (see John 15:13). To the degree that fallen man espouses DIVINE LOVE, the love that took Jesus to Calvary and then raised Him from the grave, to that degree does love have the opportunity to conquer all.