Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT).Lasting love is persistent. It is determined. It is diligent. It is resolute. It endures the worst and is stubborn in its insistence to not give up on a relationship.

In fact, the purpose of a relationship is not just to make you happy but also to make you holy and teach you how to think of others more than you think of yourself. You will learn certain things as you persevere through difficult times that you would never learn any other way.

When my wife and I got married, we discovered that we were complete opposites. We started arguing on our wedding night, and from there it just got worse. We loved each other, but we did not get along.

But we had made a vow, and we decided divorce was not an option. We said, “We’re going to make this thing work if it kills us,” and it nearly did! We got counseling, even though we were broke. We sacrificed so that we could honor our commitment to each other. We grew up. We struggled for the first two years of our marriage, but we’re better for it today.

Maybe you need to hear this today: Don’t give up. Keep on. Persevere. Be stubborn! Don’t let go of God’s gift of lasting love because you have to work for it. It will always be worth the fight.

Learning to love is the single greatest lesson in life. It is why God put you on this planet. But it’s not always easy—and it’s just plain hard to love some people.

There really isn’t a “secret” to lasting love. The key, however, is to let God’s love flow through you. Philippians 2:5 says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (NLT). Human love wears out. That’s why you need Jesus’ love in you so you can offer lasting love to others. You first have to open your life to him; then he can love others through you.

Talk It Over

• How have you had to be persistent to maintain lasting love in a relationship? How did your relationship grow as a result?
• Why do you think God wants us to learn how to love, more than any other lesson in life?
• What marks the kind of love Jesus has shown for you? How can you learn to love more like him?