Mildred O’Connell, a U.S. Army combat nurse, fell in love with Martin Molnar, an Army Air Corps pilot who flew more than 250 combat missions during World War II. The two became engaged in 1942, but both were called into service before they could be married. They didn’t see each other for two years, but they exchanged more than 4,000 pages of letters. After the war ended, they married. Their son, Ken Molnar, is planning a book based on their letters, which demonstrate the tenacious nature of genuine love.¹

God’s primary and greatest commandment to us is to love Him with all we are. The second is to love others. That’s how others can tell we are Christ followers. We have to be tenacious in our love for others. It’s not easy amid the conflicts and separations of life. But we cannot give up.

If you’re having trouble loving someone amid conflict, go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open your heart to them. Ask for a tenacious love that will not give up.

Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.
C. S. Lewis