Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:8, 13

There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Not too many days ago your school likely set you loose for the summer.

Way back in March, you realized that your school year really would come to an end, but you had months to go. In April, you could number the weeks until you were free. During May, you started counting days. By June you were ticking off hours, minutes, and finally seconds.

In those last moments before you slammed the door on the school year, you entered a time warp—one of the slowest passages of time known to humankind. As you turned in textbooks, scraped glue off desks, and waited for the end, time passed as slowly as if you were watching a dying ant crawl from one end of the white dry-erase board to another. You might even have noticed this startling effect: If you stare at a school clock in the final hour of the year, the hands actually spin backward.

Not really. But it’s no secret that those final seconds of school seem to last forever.

You know what it’s like when miserable moments seem to last forever. But the Bible says that there’s one great thing you’ll want to last forever—and it will. It’s God’s love.

There’s never been—nor will there ever be—a greater demonstration of love than what Christ did on the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” At that point in history, we got a one-of-a-kind demonstration of God’s total love for us.

God’s love, however, didn’t end on the cross. God continues to care for us every moment of every day. And when Jesus rose from the dead, he gave all of us the job of spreading his love throughout the world (see Matthew 28:18-20). When we love someone like Christ loves us, the impact of our action can last as long as God’s love. It’s like knocking down dominoes. Our love affects someone; that person feels loved and shows love to someone else, who loves still another person. This goes on and on and on.

So are you focusing your life on the one thing that truly lasts—loving God and loving others like Jesus loves you? We can be thankful to God that his love lasts even longer than those last few moments of the school year.

TALK: If you put love at the top of your to-do list, who might be affected?

PRAY: Jesus, help us to put loving you and others at the top of our list of things to do—today and always.

ACT: Make a list of all the things you do in life. For each item, ask yourself this question: “How am I using this activity to make a lasting difference in people’s lives?”