“Love never fails [never fades out or become obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].” 1 Cor 13:8 (Amplified)
The last words Jesus Christ uttered before giving up the ghost on the cross of Calvary was “It is finished.” It is His way of saying “Mission accomplished” or final closure is achieved. So, why would Jesus subject himself to such a gory experience and to what end? What was His motivation? Well, according to 1 Cor 13, it is love. Love for God and mankind was what motivated Jesus to do what He did. It was the reason He laid down His life in such a cruel way in order to obtain a significantly more glorious end for mankind. The hallmark of love is that it never fails. Consequently, anything done from the context of love always succeeds and this is the reason why Jesus could not fail in His endeavour to confer salvation and divine reconciliation on a fallen world. This is because God’s love will make a way where none exists and light a candle in the dark. Love is unsurpassable, unfathomable and indomitable and works because God Himself is love personified. So, walking in God’s love, that is, doing everything from the perspective of love, guarantees walking with God, which in turn discounts and nullifies the strength of whatever opposition you might have to face. Therefore, walking with God guarantees total victory. Jesus Christ lived a life of love and walked in the way of love all His life. Everything He did was viewed through the Perspex of love. It is no wonder that He could exclaim “Mission accomplished!”, thus confirming that He has achieved final victory and fulfilled His purpose. Love ensured that Jesus was a winner and you, the reader are a living proof of that victory.
If you are tempted into thinking “Well, it must have been easy for Jesus. After all, He is the Son of God”, the reality is that so are you. Jesus Christ is not just our Saviour, but also our elder brother and God’s first fruit. He walked on earth not as God but as man. So, whatever applied to Him then now applies to us. If He walked in the way of love in order to accomplish His God-given goal, so must we, for God is no respecter of persons. So, are you presently encountering difficulties that seem too big for you to tackle and overcome? It is because you have not yet deployed the big gun of love on that situation, for love is our ultimate weapon. Its power is irresistible. Consequently, to an individual who operates in love, there is no such thing as mission impossible, for he or she is motivated by the Spirit of love which states that all things are possible to those who believe. This is the significance of Easter and the reason why we rejoice as we celebrate the reason for our being. So, as we celebrate Jesus’ rise from the dead and claim His victory over death, we too can proclaim victory over the works of death – spiritual and physical in our lives as we proclaim by faith – Mission accomplished. In the Spirit of love, let us look forward to seeing God move supernaturally in our lives. However, in the mean time, let us meditate on 1 Cor 13 and imbibe the dictates of love – the guarantee of our victory.
Prayer:
Father, I have learnt that the only significant difference between my being able to say mission accomplished as opposed to mission impossible with respect to your work in my life is based on the word love. I ask today that you give me greater understanding of this important word so that I too can be a winner like you are. Help me to walk in the way of love like you did, so that I can never fail. Amen.