Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:8
Every once in a while, a powerful song will be written and performed in a way that moves the soul. On March 3, 2002 Country Music Singer George Strait performed such a song at the Houston Astrodome, and dedicated it to President George H.W. Bush and first lady, Barbara Bush, who were in attendance. The song, one of President Bush’s favourites, is entitled, “Love Without End. Amen.”
The song speaks to the enduring nature of a father’s love for his sometimes wayward child. The first two verses speak of human fathers loving their children through difficult times. The last verse recounts a vision of Heaven, and of a man’s doubts of being able to enter based on his own life, when he hears a heavenly voice saying, “Let me tell you a secret about a father’s love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us. He said Daddies don’t just love their Children every now and then, It’s a Love without End, Amen!”
The song is not theologically rich – it never mentions the cross of Jesus, and seems to present a God who merely overlooks sin. Yet there is a profound truth conveyed in the song in a powerful way: Our hope of Heaven can never be based on our performance, but only on the never-ending love of God! Scripture tells us, “Love never ends” and “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”
On this Father’s Day there are fathers who are grieving the choices of their children to not follow the Lord. May I remind you that today is still the day of grace. Our hope for the salvation of our children should not lie in our ability to convince them, nor even in their ability to choose or perform correctly. But our ultimate hope for the salvation of our children and loved ones rests in the undying love of our Heavenly Father! To what lengths will God go to save our loved ones? To the extreme degree of sending His own Son to this earth and to the cruel cross of Calvary! Such great love prompted God to use the horror of the cross to adopt wretched sinners, and transform them into His beloved children! As we rejoice in the never-ending love of our Heavenly Father, I wish each and every one of our fathers a very Happy Father’s Day!