Cheese Doesn't Last Forever

My husband is invariably shocked if I happen to tell him that I had to throw out some cheese because it had gone bad--which in the case of cheese generally means that it started to mold. "What? Already?!" he will quickly retort. "We just got it a couple weeks ago." Then I will kindly remind him that if by weeks he means months, then yes, we just got it a couple weeks ago. This conversation usually ends with me stating the moral of the story, something to the effect of "Cheese doesn't last forever, you know."

Cheese, if not used in a matter of weeks (a rather generous time period for most cheeses), will begin to turn. First comes the smell, then the spots, and then there's no stopping the rapid spread of the fungus which will turn the cheese into something unrecognizable--and unedible. It has, in a word, expired.

Many things in our lives have this kind of a cycle. Dairy products, meats, fruits, vegetables, packaged items go bad; make-up gets clumpy or clotty when it sits around too long; shoes wear out; carpet breaks down, losing its pile and becoming more prone to stains; medications lose their effectiveness; paint separates; even Crisco turns sour!

But God's love, as it turns out, has no expiration date. You don't one day present yourself before God and suddenly have to say, "Oh, shoot--I got here too late--it's expired." No matter how early or late (whether temporally or in terms of a spiritual journey) we come to Him, His love always remains up-to-date, current, immediate, and plentiful. The LORD tells us in Jeremiah 31:3, ""I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

But often we behave as though He has said, "I have loved you with a time-sensitive love; I have drawn you with perishing kindness." We can't fathom the idea of a love that is both unconditional and un-expirational. Paul boasts of this love, which he himself had experienced in a dramatic way: "
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

No matter what poor choices we've made, sins we've committed, lies we've embraced--nor how far astray we may have gone in rebellion to all He has planned for us--His love remains steadfast and unending. And even if we never loved Him at all--still, His love for us is as sparkling and effervescent as the moment He first conceived of creating any of us. Creating me. Creating you.

That love that motivated our genesis has always been there--from before time began. And what is His love like? According to I Corinthians 13, it is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude or self-seeking. It is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Furthermore, God's love for us always seeks to protect us, put trust in us, provide us with hope, and persevere after us. He is a Father who never disowns His children. His love is too far-reaching, too magnificent. He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

I Corinthians 13:8 tells us, "But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." Nothing will last forever except the trio mentioned in this passage: "faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." And why is love the greatest? Because it's the very nature of who God is. He is love (I John 4:8).

So please take comfort tonight in knowing--that even if you don't have it all figured out; even if you aren't able to believe in His love right now; even if your life seems directionless or pointless to you at present--there is a greater truth than what you have experienced. And that is the truth of how much He loves you.

Unlike cheese, that lasts forever, and no matter what you do--you can't make it expire.