“Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.” Psalms 119:90 NIV

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”   I Chronicles 16:34 NIV

The word endure caught my attention this week in my reading. To endure means to last, to continue, to persist, to survive, to be steadfast, to hold on, to bear with patience, to be unwavering. These verses tell us that God created and established the earth and that it continues to endure. They also remind us that God and God’s love endure forever.

Endure seems to be a perfect word for all that is going on in our country and our world. With the pandemic, injustice, abject poverty, protests, unprecedented hunger, violence, and suffering, we struggle to endure. In times like this we must hold fast to our faith and be the difference we want to see in the world. We must have the power to endure the difficulties and not just survive, but to shine God’s enduring, everlasting love to others.

Let us pass the light of the Lord to the next generation. Let us share His love by loving others. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34NIV Jesus gives us a higher standard than “love your neighbor as yourself”. He doesn’t just command us to love others as much as we love ourselves, He commands us to love others just as He loves us! A much higher bar.

This week let’s start in our homes, our neighborhoods, and our communities. Let’s love others like Jesus loves us. Let’s treat each person we interact with as Jesus would, with care, with concern, with kindness, with love, with respect, without judgement, without anger, without disdain. Let’s shine love as we all endure and bear with patience the world we live in.

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for joining me this week as we discuss enduring and shining in this world we live in.

Blessings and endurance!