The first three words of I Corinthians 13:8 end our series on God’s character and our identity as a church. Paul writes, “Love never fails.” The words are exciting and comforting, but they should also bring us a joy that comes from realizing that God will accomplish His purpose in our lives. A more descriptive translation from the Greek would read, “Love never falls down, falls out, perishes or is left powerless.” The three words do not mean that love will always do what you want or hope it will do, but rather that love will never stop working to fulfill it’s divine purpose. The love of God is not shed abroad to fulfill our desires but to fulfill God’s will in our lives. His love, His life, His death and His resurrection were not tools for man to fulfill his dreams but rather the way of God to bring us back to our desired place, as His image, His children, His pleasure. Jesus lived and taught a love that was never dependent upon circumstance, comfort, emotion or feeling but rather a love that was chosen, that was strong and that would endure. The love of God is everlasting, it is unchanging and it is overwhelming. In John 13 Jesus called all of us to this same love, “As I have loved you, love one another.” We must be willing to receive the unfailing love of God, the love that molds uus into His image, that both encourages and rebukes to  change us into His character and that accepts us as we are for salvation but refuses to leave us we are without transformation. In receiving the perfect love of God we must then love others likewise. The great promise of John 13 is that all men will know we are Jesus’ disciples by our love for one another, but don’t miss the description of that love; the promise is fulfilled when we love like Jesus loved. The character of God is that He gave Himself to fulfill His love in us, our identity must be that we give ourselves to spread that love to those that have yet to receive it. “Love never fails”, may we be known for being loved and lovers of God, then I believe that not only will men know that we are His disciples, but they will long to know the unfailing love of Jesus for themselves.