Issue #27 - Love Requires Death
Messy story of the week
Linda has been thinking a lot since the last conversation.
Not about what James said, but about what she does when things feel uncertain. How she tightens her grip. How she manages outcomes. How she stays busy so she doesn’t have to feel how vulnerable love can be.
It’s not something she chose consciously. It’s something she learned long ago. It once helped her survive. It kept things predictable. It kept her safe.
But lately, she’s wondering if that same strategy is quietly suffocating the very connection she longs for.
The realization is unsettling. If she lets go of this way of being, who will she be then? And what if love asks her to release something she’s relied on for years?
Faithful God, then and now
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:11
When Paul writes that love never fails, but prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will pass away, he is pointing to a truth we often resist: not everything that once served us is meant to last.
The Corinthians clung tightly to what made them feel powerful and secure. God’s invitation was not condemnation, but maturity. A call to release what was partial so something fuller could grow.
Throughout Scripture, God faithfully meets His people at moments of letting go. Not to leave them empty-handed, but to lead them into deeper life. Love matures when we trust God enough to release what no longer serves it.
What we can learn
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Some patterns are helpful in one season and harmful in another
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Letting go can feel like loss before it feels like growth
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Maturity in love often requires grieving what once worked
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God is present not only in building, but in ending
Behind the curtain
In coaching, I often see people trying to fix behaviors without honoring their history. Many of the patterns that cause trouble in marriage today once protected someone from pain.
Change becomes possible not when we shame those patterns, but when we thank them for their service and allow God to lead us into something new.
Faithful family tools
If this reflection resonates, you might find support and encouragement through:
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Faithful Families Free Community
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Everyday Faithful: Christian Marriage, Parenting & Family
Faith step for the week
Ask God to gently show you one pattern or habit that may have outlived its purpose. Practice loosening your grip rather than forcing change.
Bible verse
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:11
2-minute practice
Write down one way you protect yourself in relationships. Offer it to God in prayer, not for immediate change, but for awareness.
Prayer
Faithful God,
You know the ways we learned to survive and the ways You are inviting us to grow.
Give us courage to release what no longer brings life.
Meet us in the grief and guide us toward love that is more whole.
Amen.
Coming next
Next week, we’ll reflect on what remains when love grows up, and how faith, hope, and love carry us forward into a steadier, quieter strength.
Responses