What Only God Can Do - A Love That Lasts

Reflection Questions:

1. In what areas of your life are you chasing things that might not last?
2. Do you ever feel the pressure to focus on resume virtues instead of eulogy virtues?
3. How do you define love that lasts — and how does that compare with God’s love?
4. Who has shown you love in a way that truly impacted you? What made it so lasting?
5. Where in your life could you replace “usefulness” with “presence” in your relationships?
6. What would change today if you let God’s enduring love be the filter for your choices?

Sample Prayer:

God, thank You for a love that never runs out, never collapses, and never fails. Help me shift my focus from chasing what’s temporary to investing in what truly lasts. Teach me to love others not because of what they can do for me, but because You love me first. May Your love shape my priorities and lead me to live with kindness, integrity, and grace.

Transcript:

Well, hey friends, welcome back to the weekday podcast. We're still in our teaching on what only God can do. So welcome to episode 24. Today, our focus is something that we all crave, but we often can't find. And it's actually something that lasts. Now, we live in a world that is full of temporary things. Phone batteries that drain, social media, trends that come and go fast, fashion and even our attention spans. We like to start things, but we move on quickly. And our relationships can feel that way. They can actually become transactional. And it's easy to drift into a mindset where people are only valuable and if they're useful. But God is calling us to something deeper, something that's actually more durable. In First Corinthians 13, verses 8 and 13, Paul says this. He says, love never fails. Then he goes on to say, now, faith, hope, and love remain these three, but the greatest of these is love. That phrase, love never fails, in the Greek, it means that love never falls, it never collapses, it never runs out. And when Paul's writing this, he's writing to a group of believers who were incredibly gifted, but at the same time, they were deeply divided. They were caught up in what you might call spiritual competition. Who spoke better, who prophesied more powerfully, who had the most impressive gifts. But Paul says all that stuff, that flashy stuff, is just temporary. He says prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, knowledge will pass away. But love, love endures. And what's interesting is Paul's not trying to be poetic. He's actually trying to shift their priorities. And maybe that's the invitation for you today to shift your priorities. David Brooks talks about this idea of the difference between resume virtues and eulogy virtues. Resume virtues are what bring what you bring to the job market, like skills and achievements, accomplishments. But eulogy, virtues, they're what people remember about your character, about your kindness, integrity, faithfulness and love. And if we're honest, most of our culture celebrates resume virtues. But the people who change our lives, they're the ones that actually love us. Well, nobody stands at a funeral and says, she crushed it in the meeting. They say, she made me feel seen. Nobody celebrates how fast you replied to email. They celebrate how fully you showed up in their lives. So today, what are you building your life on? Are you chasing things that are fading, or are you investing in what lasts? Jesus said the world would know that we belong to him not by how many Bible verses we quote, not by how many flashy gifts that we have, but by how we love. Here's the reminder. You'll be remembered for how you loved, not by what you own. So today, ask God, God, what am I holding onto that won't last? God, who needs my love today? And God, what does love look like in action for me right now? Let's let his love be our foundation today. Let it be the filter for our decisions and the thing that fuels our relationships. Well, thanks again for being with us on the Weekday Podcast. If you want more tools and resources to grow in your faith, be sure to visit the resource easterinsugarhill.com we can't wait to continue walking with you as we think about what only God can do. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.