Don't Waste Your Retirement

Love Trumps Everything

Linda Isbell

You’d think I could have learned this earlier in my life.  I’ve been surrounded by love from a multitude of people – expected and unexpected.  I’ve experienced all types of love – God’s unmerited love, fought for love, romantic love, platonic love, family and friend love, and even surprising love.  My life has been filled with the normal ups and downs, challenges and joys, losses and sorrows, but always, there has been love.

So now, in this season of retirement, while I have some time to reflect on how love has wrapped me up in its arms over and over again, I’m finally figuring out that something I have taken for granted in so many ways is the most important thing to live out in my life.  I’ve rarely given love the credit it should have for inspiring me, bringing me unparalleled joy, balancing my life, preventing me from tipping too far in one direction, saving me from saying and doing things I shouldn’t…the list goes on for how love has affected and guided my life.  Love is powerful.

Retirement is a season of freedom from past demands in many ways, so I suggest it is also the season to take huge chunks of time just to love – love God, love others, even love yourself.  Bob Goff writes in one of his books, “plans can work and plans can fail, but love never fails, so why not count on the certain?”  Why not?  God’s word also says in I Corinthians 12 that “love never fails.”  What an amazing guarantee.  From The Passion Translation, “Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.”  And from the Message “Love never gives up.”  And we know from Jesus’ ministry that we are deeply loved and treasured by God – retirement is a beautiful time to generously share that love with others.

Jesus never stopped living love and speaking love…he even commanded us to love our enemies!  A challenge for us given that sometimes we don’t even love our friends and family!  He made a spectacle of us, saying that the world would know we were his disciple by the love we showed to others.  He put us on the stage for the world to see that love is the centerpiece of his teaching.  He gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan to have a story to cling to if we would forget – that love motivates compassion and service.  He taught that his Father’s character is defined by love since he loved the world so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin and death.

Basically, he brought us to the pinnacle of our earthly walk – do everything in love.  Love trumps everything.  The law is trumped by love, obedience is only the product of love, compassion issues from love, service hinges on loving others, guilt is dissolved through love.  Take that certainty of what God has given you in Christ Jesus and spread it abroad generously through loving others – be his conduit, his message to the world that, indeed, love trumps everything.

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Linda Isbell

I’ve had a heart for missions almost my entire life. I’ve been blessed with using these retirement years to live close to one son and his family and be a very active Mimi to 3 grandsons, along with having time to travel to our other son’s family and be Mimi to 4 more grandchildren. But God also has a call on my life for overseas ministry, not just here in the states. I have spent many years teaching Spanish and French and it only felt right to submit those to God for His purposes. I’ve lived in Uganda, taken mission trips to Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, France, England, Spain and beyond. I presently travel to Europe 5-6 times a year, serving as Director of US Partner Relations for a European church planting organization that is working in 18 countries and expanding to Australia and South Africa. I love that God has given me the privilege of serving in retirement years beyond my wildest dreams!