Lasting love is persistent. It is determined. It is diligent. It is resolute. It endures the worst and doesn’t give up on a relationship. It’s stubborn!

The purpose of a relationship is not just to make you happy but also to make you holy. Relationships—whether with a spouse or child or even a close friend—teach you to think of others more than you think of yourself. As you persevere with them through difficult times, you will learn certain things that you would never learn any other way.

When my wife and I got married, we discovered that we were complete opposites. We started arguing on our wedding night, and from there, it just got worse. We loved each other, but we did not get along.

But we had made a vow, and we decided divorce was not an option. We said, “We’re going to make this thing work if it kills us”—and it nearly did! We got counseling, even though we were broke. We sacrificed so that we could honor our commitment to each other. We grew up. We struggled for the first two years of our marriage, but we became better through it.

Maybe you need to hear this today: Don’t give up. Keep on. Persevere. Be stubborn. Don’t let go of God’s gift of lasting love because you have to work for it. It will always be worth the fight.

Learning to love is the single greatest lesson in life. It is why God put you on this planet. But it’s not always easy—and it’s just plain hard to love some people.

There really isn’t a “secret” to lasting love. The key, however, is to let God’s love flow through you.

Philippians 2:5 says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (NLT). Human love wears out. But having Jesus’ love in you lets you offer lasting love to others.

Open your life to him—and then let him love others through you.