The Plumbline

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  (I Corinthians 13:7) I don't know who needs this today, but the words that popped in this passage today were 'love never gives up'. There are times when all we want to do is throw in the towel and just call it quits. It could be in a relationship, a job, some adventure you got yourself into, or even a dream that you have always wanted to see fulfilled. Love never gives up - never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures - regardless of the circumstances, our lack of whatever it is we need at the moment, or how hard the pressure seems to be 'in the middle of the muddle' we call life. Does that mean whenever we want to give up, we need more love in our lives? No, it just means we turn to the one who loves us beyond our understanding of his love. We turn to Jesus and ask him for whatever it is we need at the moment - to continue with purpose, power, and persistence.

Winston Churchill reminded us, " If you are going through hell, keep going. " There is quite a bit of wisdom in that one! We might want to give up, but hell isn't our stomping ground! It may seem a bit like we are doomed to be there, but the truth of the matter is that we are to move through to the other side of whatever misery it is we are calling our 'hell' at this moment. God reminds us, " As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. " (Colossians 1:10-12) There is a strength not our own that we rely upon when in the midst of something bigger than our capacity, or harder than our capabil

So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. (2 Peter 1:5-8) If you have ever started a 'project', then realize it sits unfinished some months later, you are not likely alone in that 'project completion' cycle. Many of us are great at 'making starts', but then somewhere down the road it all fizzles out. Why? We began with all the gusto in the world, but somehow that gusto didn't carry us along to the finish line. W

Have you ever been in a circumstance where you knew 'letting go' of something meant it was going to bring some form of pain into your life? You may lose your grip on it and it will cause you physical pain, but you may also lose your 'grip' on it and it will leave you with a whole lot of emotional pain. Whenever we are holding onto something, or someone, for dear life, we are using a whole lot of effort to hold onto it, as if our very life depended upon not letting go. In some cases, we are the ones doing the "holding" - simply because we are desperate to not let go. At others, someone or something else is holding onto us - because to let go would be to experience loss of some kind. None of us likes to experience loss - no matter how well we are prepared. Loss is often equated with being "deprived" of something you once had, such as when we mourn the loss of an individual in our lives. It can also mean an accidental loss of something, much like m