Thursday, June 20, 2019

LOVE THAT LASTS A LIFETIME


     
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LOVE THAT LASTS A LIFETIME

                                          By Ada Brownell

      The old man’s gnarled fingers gripped the polished arms of the chair. His grey eyes snapped with enthusiasm. “I’ve sent my servant Abahu to my country and to my kindrid. He will return with a wife for you. I’ve done this so your seed will inherit this land the Lord gave to me--and our children and children’s children.”

      Abraham, the old man, squinted his eyes, waiting for a response from his son, Isaac.

Already 40 years old, Isaac had noticed the beautiful daughters of the wicked  Canaanites, their neighbors. He ran his figures through his shoulder-length brown hair, his heart pounding. A wife! Could the aged servant his father sent tell who would please him?

“I should have gone with Abahu!” Isaac dropped on his knees in front of his papa, upset, but loving the feeble man and seeing his frailty. “This is important!”

Abraham reached for Isaac’s hand. “I couldn’t bear to send you back to that country. I sent my servants with many gifts.  Be in peace. I saw an angel leading the way.”

A few days later, Abahu stood with 10 camels near a well where women of the city came to draw water.

“Oh, Lord God, I pray thee send me good speed this day and show kindness to my master Abraham,” he prayed. “Let the damsel I ask for a drink also volunteer to water my camels.”

Before he was done praying, Rebekah walked toward the well with her pitcher on her shoulder. After she filled it, she held out her hand to Abahu. “Drink, my lord.”

 While Abahu drank, he observed the young woman who was returning to the well. She turned to him. “I will draw water for thy camels also.”

She was the one!

In a short time, the servant had her father’s approval, but her family called for Rebekah to see if she wanted to go.

“I will go,” she said.

Rebekah left, bringing along her damsels, as they rode camels and followed Abraham’s servant.

Isaac was out meditating in the field at evening when in the distance saw riders coming.

Rebekah saw him  Knowing it must be the man that was to be her husband, she covered her face with a veil, jumped off the camel and into Isaac’s waiting arms. And he loved her and married her right away.[1]

Contrast this story with King David who could see Delilah bathing on a roof next to the palace. His lust resulted in a quick tryst, an attempt at a cover-up, the intentional killing of Delilah’s husband, and the death of the beloved child born as a result of their sin. All of his life, David regretted his transgressions.

      People have confused lust with love since the beginning, and it might be more widespread today than ever before.

The Bible says when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15). That’s often verified today. The Ccnter for Disease Control’s 2010 report on Sexually Transmitted Diseases identified STDs as one of the most critical health challenges facing our nation, with 19 million new infections each year costing the health care system $17 billion, not to mention the misery caused by herpes, the shame, the cancers caused human papilloma virus, the infertility caused by Chlamydia, liver failure caused by hepatitis, not to mention AIDS, and emotional problems such as suicide, unwed pregnancy, abortion, alcoholism, drug addiction and even murders from jealous lovers.

      Contrast that with the Bible’s definition of love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

True love waits until after the wedding because of love deeper than lust. The couple vows to love each other, forsaking all others, until death. Love cares for their children until they’re able to care for themselves.

Love is far more intense than lust. Lust may last for a few moments, a few nights, maybe even a few years. But love, especially when deepened by God’s supernatural love, endures for a lifetime and beyond, through every moment, long beyond outward beauty, into every heartache, every sickness, every financial crisis, every disappointment, every loss, and even in death.

An old man knew he was dying and he asked his wife, “We’ve slept together for 68 years. Wife, crawl up into this hospital bed with me and sleep with me one more time.”

And she did.

The Bible says love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8).

©Ada Brownell 2012

Ada Brownell is author of a book about supernatural love—how even after Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate of the forbidden tree and became mortals that would age, become ill and die, God promised He would send Someone to change that and restore eternal life. Read about it in her book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, in either paperback or for Kindle at http://amzn.to/Jnc1rW  Watch for her teen novel, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, available in the near future.



  Ada Brownell author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06


Swallowed by LIFE: http://amzn.to/Jnc1rW

Confessions of a Pentecostal: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088OP460


Twitter: @adellerella















[1] Genesis 24

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