00:00You know, I woke up this morning and I had a song in my mind.
00:04Living on love, buying on time, without somebody, nothing ain't worth a dime.
00:12Just like an old-fashioned storybook rhyme, living on love.
00:18I know I'm not the best singer, but I tell you what, that song's been going out in my head
00:23all morning.
00:24And it inspired the talk today.
00:27You know, there are seasons in life when you find out what's really holding you together.
00:34When you're young, you might think life is held together by energy, plans, dreams, money, momentum, and the feeling that
00:43you have time to figure everything out.
00:46Later on, after life has a chance to humble you a little, you begin to see more clearly.
00:53You begin to understand that some of the strongest people are not the ones with the most comfort, the most
01:01applause, or the easiest road.
01:05Some of the strongest people are simply living on love.
01:09And there's something so beautiful about that.
01:13Love stays when the years have left lines on your face and stories in your heart.
01:50You know, that is one reason this truth reaches so deep into the soul.
01:56Love can carry a life.
01:59And when we talk about that as believers, we're talking about something even deeper than human affection.
02:07We're talking about the love of God.
02:10The kind of love that can hold a person steady through changing seasons.
02:16The kind of love that does not disappear when life gets hard.
02:21The kind of love that can walk through fire without blinking.
02:25And some of you know exactly what that means.
02:29You know what it is to keep going when life did not turn out the way you expected.
02:35You know what it is to look around and realize that some of the things you once trusted are not
02:42strong enough to carry the weight of a human heart.
02:45You know what it is to have days when your strength feels low, your answers feel few, and your heart
02:54quietly asks,
02:56What is going to hold me now?
02:59And that's where love becomes more than a nice word.
03:03It becomes daily bread.
03:07A lot of people are trying to live on things that will never truly satisfy the soul.
03:13They are living on recognition.
03:16They're living on control.
03:18They're living on the hope that if everything goes according to plan, then they will finally have peace.
03:25But life keeps teaching us that peace does not come from perfect circumstances.
03:32It comes from something deeper.
03:34It comes from being held by a love that does not change when the world does.
03:40God's love is exactly that.
03:44It does not panic when your life gets messy.
03:48It does not back away when you are tired.
03:51It does not grow cold when you are disappointed.
03:55It does not leave when you are in pain.
03:59It stays close.
04:01It stays true.
04:02And it stays strong.
04:05And one of the most touching things in life is watching people who have learned this.
04:10Maybe they do not have all the riches that life would possibly offer by the world's standards.
04:18And maybe they do not have everything polished and easy.
04:22But there is warmth in them.
04:25Have you seen it in their face?
04:27There is steadiness in them.
04:29There is gratitude.
04:31There is a quiet strength within them.
04:35Why?
04:35Because they have learned that a life built on love can survive what a life built on image never could.
04:44You see, that is true in marriage.
04:47It is true in family.
04:49It is true in friendship.
04:51And it is true in faith.
04:55The world often teaches people to chase bigger, louder, faster, and more impressive.
05:01But God teaches us through smaller things, through daily fruitfulness and faithfulness,
05:09through mercy, through patience, through staying, through choosing tenderness in a hard world,
05:18through learning that some of the holiest things in life are not dramatic at all.
05:25They are simple.
05:26They are steady.
05:28And they are full of love.
05:31When scripture tells us that God is love,
05:35it is telling us something powerful about the foundation of reality itself.
05:41It's telling us that love is not just a feeling passing through the heart.
05:46Love is rooted in the character of God.
05:49Real love is strong.
05:52It's faithful.
05:54And it endures.
05:56Real love just keeps showing up.
06:00Real love does not vanish the moment life gets expensive.
06:04And Jesus showed us that more clearly than anyone.
06:08He did not love people from a distance.
06:12He came near.
06:13He loved the weak, the grieving, the ashamed, the forgotten, the sick, the confused, and the burdened.
06:22He loved people who misunderstood him.
06:25He loved people who failed him.
06:28He loved all the way to the cross.
06:33And the cross tells us something the world needs to hear again.
06:37Love does not run when suffering enters the room.
06:43You see, Jesus walked straight into pain with love still burning in his heart.
06:50And that means when your life enters a difficult season, you do not have to wonder whether love is still
06:57real.
06:58Look at Christ.
07:00Look at the cross.
07:02Look at the resurrection.
07:05That is love that stayed.
07:09That is love that suffered.
07:12That is love that overcame.
07:14So, when we say we're living on love, we're not talking about pretending life is easy.
07:22We're talking about discovering that love is stronger than we thought.
07:27We are talking about finding out that the love of God can hold a marriage together.
07:35Hold a weary soul together.
07:38Hold a family together.
07:40And hold a broken heart together.
07:44We are talking about learning that even when resources are thin, even when the road is long, even when tears
07:53are near,
07:54a person can still have something rich and holy if love is present.
08:00And some of the most beautiful lives are built that way.
08:06Not flashy.
08:07Not loud.
08:09Just faithful.
08:10A hand held across the years.
08:16A prayer whispered at the end of the day.
08:20A kind word when someone is running low.
08:24A meal shared.
08:27A burden carried together.
08:30A choice to forgive.
08:33A decision to stay soft when life gives you reasons to turn hard.
08:40That is the kind of life many people are hungry for, even if they do not know how to say
08:47it.
08:47They are not only hungry for success.
08:50They are hungry for something lasting.
08:54Something clean.
08:56Something true.
08:58Something that makes a house feel like home and makes a soul feel safe.
09:04They are hungry for love.
09:08And the good news is that this kind of love is not something you have to manufacture by your own
09:15strength.
09:16It begins with receiving the love of God.
09:19Because when you know you are loved by him, deeply loved, patiently loved, faithfully loved, you begin to live differently.
09:33You stop measuring your worth by the world's shifting standards.
09:37You stop assuming hardship means abandonment.
09:40You begin to understand that even in fire, even in waiting, even in uncertainty, you are being carried.
09:53So maybe that is the question today.
09:56What are you living on?
09:59Are you living on appearances?
10:01On control?
10:02On comfort?
10:03On outcomes?
10:05Or are you learning to live on love?
10:08Because when the storms come, only love will prove strong enough.
10:15Only love will still be standing when lesser things have fallen away.
10:21Only love can keep a heart tender through hard years.
10:26Only love can teach a soul how to remain gentle and strong at the same time.
10:35Live on that love.
10:38Live on the love of God that does not fail.
10:43Live on the love that stays when life changes.
10:47Live on the love that can walk through fire without blinking.
10:53Live on the love revealed in Jesus Christ.
10:57Because when all is said and done, a life built on love is never a small life.
11:05It's a beautiful life.
11:07It's a strong life.
11:10And by the grace of God, it's a life that lasts.
11:17My name is Douglas Vandergraaf, and I believe in Jesus Christ.
11:23God bless every single one of you.
11:28Every single one.
11:33Bye, friends.
11:34Bye, friends.
11:34Bye, friends.
11:35Bye, friends.
11:35Bye, friends.
11:36Bye, friends.
11:36Bye, friends.
11:37Bye, friends.
11:37Bye, friends.
11:37Bye, friends.
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