Love That Lasts: Faithful Now, Fulfilled Forever

From the series “The Love of God”

The love of God is not seasonal.
It does not fade with age or change with circumstance.
It is not bound by time.
It is the love that calls, keeps, and crowns.

“Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
— John 13:1b, NASB 1995

This is the love we’ve traced through Scripture.
It is the love that shaped creation, bled at the cross, rose in victory, abides in us, and compels us to love others.

But this love does not end in the present.
It points us forward—to the day when we will see Him face to face.

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“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face… Now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:12–13

All other gifts will cease. Prophecy, knowledge, tongues—they will vanish. But love will remain. Because love is not simply a trait of God—it is our eternal inheritance in Him.

We have been called not only to believe, but to become.
To be conformed to the image of Christ.
To walk as He walked.
To love as He loved.

And one day, that love will be made perfect.

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“We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
— 1 John 3:2

This is not a vague future. It is a glorious fulfillment—the marriage supper of the Lamb, the final union of Bride and Bridegroom, when God will dwell with His people and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:3–4).

There will be no more betrayal.
No more suffering.
No more sin.
Only love—pure, unbroken, eternal.

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The Shepherd of Hermas (c. 2nd century):
“Put on love, which is the bond of the elect of God. Those who walk in love shall dwell with Him forever.”
— Mandate VIII

Irenaeus (c. 180 AD):
“Those who love the truth shall see the glory of God… and be made one with Him in eternal life.”
— Against Heresies, Book IV

The early Church lived with this hope in view.
They suffered, sacrificed, and served—not to gain God’s love, but because they were certain of it. And they longed for the day when that love would be fully revealed.

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So now we live between the times—anchored in the love that saved us, abiding in the love that sanctifies us, and reaching for the day when that love will be fully seen and shared forever.

This is the love that fuels obedience.
This is the love that drives mission.
This is the love that endures loss, rejection, hardship, and death.

And this is the love that awaits us with arms open wide.

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“See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are.”
— 1 John 3:1

So walk in love—
Proclaim the truth—
Endure in holiness—
Raise the next generation—
Live sent in the Spirit—
And set your eyes on the One who first loved you.

Because the greatest is love.
And the end of the story is the eternal love of God—face to face, never ending.

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📚 Sources & References

Love That Lasts: Faithful Now, Fulfilled Forever

Scripture (NASB 1995):

• John 13:1 – “He loved them to the end.”
• 1 Corinthians 13:12–13 – “Now abide faith, hope, love… the greatest of these is love.”
• 1 John 3:1–2 – “We shall be like Him…”
• Revelation 21:3–4 – “Behold, the dwelling place of God is among men…”

Ante-Nicene Sources:

• The Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate VIII.
  “Put on love… those who walk in love shall dwell with Him forever.”
  [Available at: EarlyChristianWritings.com]
• Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book IV.
  “Those who love the truth shall see the glory of God…”
  [Available at: NewAdvent.org/fathers/0103.htm]