As Long as the River Flows

“And forever and forever,

As long as the river flows,

As long as the heart has passions,

As long as life has woes;

“The moon and its broken reflection

And its shadows shall appear,

As the symbol of love in heaven,

And its wavering image here.”

Excerpt from "The Bridge"

 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1807-1882

“As long as the river flows…” there will be love, Love between fellowmen in varying degrees.  Some will have just enough love to avoid hate, some will have love that keeps its distance to avoid being wounded by the one being loved, some will love conditionally.  Others will love to an extreme that strangles the one receiving it.  Then there are those who will love “anyhow.”  Bruised, battered and neglected, but loving still.  There will be those who will love enough to give their lives for the cause or the person(s) they consider worthy.

How do we find ‘ideal love,’ the real Love?  Love that doesn’t have to be earned before it is given?  Love that always wants only the best for the beloved and expects it of them?  Love that will give and give even when the receiver doesn’t understand its depth or is even aware of it?

Before the river began to flow and was only in the mind of God…and after it has stopped flowing, there was and always will be Love—Love that “wants only the best for the beloved and expects it of them.”  God’s Love.  The idea of love began with Him and will never end!  It must break God’s heart to see His creation misusing and abusing love.  His creatures have redefined the precious gift that God gave them.  It is confused with lust; it is displayed in disparaging ways in the media so prolifically that it has lost it meaning.

The greatest demonstration of Love was spoken by John:  “For God so loved the world…,” unconditionally; before the world even knew Him; before they knew the depth, width and breadth of His Love; before they acknowledged His presence; before they even wanted to be loved by him—He loved the world!  Not just the “world” collectively; but He knew each individual intimately, their end from their beginning before they were even born.  He knew they would reject Him, deny Him and even kill Him; yet He loved them, each one!

You would think Love that is rejected repeatedly, tread upon carelessly would cease; but not God’s Love.  Love so strong that it will hang on a sin-ladened cross and die for the very executioners is the kind of Love that brings salvation to a fallen creation and makes sense of this life filled with fear and confusion.  It’s that Love that looks beyond the world we live in now to the “glorious appearing” of the embodiment of Love to claim for all eternity those who will accept His love now and be nurtured by it while we await His return.

Do you feel unloved?  Do you long for the kind of Love that will stick with you through thick and thin?  You might not have been “lucky in love” in this life, but you can have a Love that will love you when you are young and ignorant, when you are old and haven’t learned much better, when you’ve tried and failed time and again and feel like giving up.  It is being extended to you at this moment; all you have to do is receive it.  It has no price tag for you.  It cost more than you could afford, but it has been paid for and has your name inscribed on it.

The benefits.  They are priceless!  You will never be alone again.  You will always have Someone who will listen to you night or day and will not hang up when you call.  You will never get a “busy” signal, and you will never be misunderstood no matter how ineptly you make your end of the conversation.  In fact, your heart will be heard even louder than your words.  Your mouth might not be able to express what your heart is feeling; that’s OK.  He understands and feels what you feel.

With access to Love like that, we are in a position to give it to others who cross our paths.  Our Love capacity just expands and expands as His Love is poured into our hearts.  The more we receive, the more we want to give it away.  The more we give it away, the more it multiplies for us.  What family could not profit from an endless supply of Love!  Husband and wives can love and respect each other, pass it on to their children and their extended family without diminishing the supply.  The “vertical” Source supplies the “horizontal” need to keep the flow active and flowing endlessly.  Family, friends, business associates, store clerks, airline stewards, church family, everyone you come in contact with will be beneficiaries of the Love flow.

“As long as the river flows…” Love will continue and reach out to everyone who will just open their hearts to receive it.  The reason:  God is eternal and His Love will never fail.  May we not fail to receive this unspeakable, unmatched Love He gives with an ever ongoing outflow!

Someone (unknown to me) made a beautiful statement we can relate to: 

"Death leaves a heartache that on one can heal. 

Love leaves a memory that no one can steal."

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).