Dr Kevin Blackwell

Lord, your faithful love reaches to heaven, your faithfulness to the clouds. God your faithful love is so valuable, that people take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:5;7 HCSB.

He was 21 and fresh out of the military, having served his country in the Panama Canal during WWII. She, his sweetheart, was only 18. They married on November 4, 1943. James (Jim) and Sue Partain dedicated their lives to raising three boys, answering a call to ministry, and ultimately serving thousands of people in the name of Jesus. Affectionately known as “Brother Jim” and “Mrs. Sue,” they formed a powerful team in ministry, serving sacrificially for over 60 years. I knew them as “PA” and “Granny.” They were my wife’s grandparents. Brother Jim served as pastor for two churches during his ministry: Lister Memorial Baptist Church and the Joiner Christian Mission. However, he is best known for his 28-year tenure as the director of Cook Springs Baptist Camp.

Mrs. Sue directed the kitchen at the camp, cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for thousands of campers for nearly three decades. While the camp experience left wonderful memories for many, it might have been Mrs. Sue’s fried chicken that kept them coming back year after year. They lived at the camp in modest accommodations, but you would never hear them complain. They were called by God to serve others, and they did it with joy in their hearts, a love for people, and immense personal sacrifice. Even in their later years, they continued to serve the Joiner Christian Mission, which included ministering to low-income families and regularly distributing food to those in need in the mobile home park next to their small mission church. Their lifetime of ministry sacrifice meant they never accumulated much material wealth, but one thing they cherished above all else was each other. I can hardly think of anyone in ministry for whom I have had more respect than Brother Jim and Mrs. Sue. I was always impressed by their infectious love for Jesus, their sacrificial hearts, and how deeply they loved one another. Brother Jim dedicated his life to serving people in the name of Jesus, but his first priority was always to serve Sue, his bride.

As a young newly married man, I found myself observing how he treated her, thinking, “This is my example of how to love Lorrie.” I took mental notes on how PA spoke sweetly to Granny, how he parked the car, opened her door, took her arm, and walked with her to their destination. He served both Jesus and his wife with excellence. Around 2005, Granny began to show signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite his efforts, as the disease progressed, PA could no longer take care of her needs alone. They lived independently for as long as possible, with PA serving his bride with compassion and sacrificial love. Eventually, after a few difficult situations at their home, the decision was made that Granny needed 24/7 care in an Alzheimer’s unit. Rather than admitting her to this unit, PA—though still mentally sharp and in decent health—decided to move in with her. Despite being among people who could not remember their own names, his love for her remained unwavering. In her last year, Sue no longer recognized Jim, but that did not matter to him. Whether or not she knew he was her husband, PA knew that she was his wife, and that was all that mattered. Sue Partain passed away on Christmas Day 2007 in the Alzheimer’s unit, but she did not die alone. Lying next to her, surrounded by family, PA held her hand as she took her last breath. He only let go with the assurance that the next hand she would hold would be nail-scarred. He wouldn’t be apart from her for long, as 64 days later, Jim Partain would once again see his wife and the Savior to whom he had dedicated his life. To this day, we are convinced that PA grieved himself to death. He could not imagine a future without Sue. The love story of Jim and Sue Partain is one worth telling, and years later, it continues to inspire me—not only as a reminder of how I am called to love and serve my wife but also as the most incarnational example of how God loves me.

Much like PA’s love for Granny, God’s love for me is faithful, sacrificial, and empathetic. The Psalmist reminds us, “Your faithful love reaches to the heavens… Your faithful love is so valuable” (Psalm 36:5, 7). Paul’s prayer for the Church at Ephesus speaks to this indomitable love: “I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height, and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

I am convinced that most people either neglect or underestimate the love of God. His love is not a distant, esoteric kind; rather, it is close, personal, internal, and eternal. It is not the kind of love that says, “I am here if you need me,” but rather, “I will enter into your pain, heartache, disappointment, and weeping.” It is not a love that stands beside or over you, but one that lays with you, holds your hand, and walks you to a better place. God’s love for you is deeper, wider, higher, and stronger than you could ever imagine, and such love deserves a response. What a waste it would be to live your whole life without knowing a love like that. If you ever question, doubt, or wonder about God’s love for you, simply look to a hill called Calvary. On that lonely hill, you will find the fullest expression of God’s love for you as He sacrificed His perfect Son for your imperfect sin.

It is my prayer today that you will “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19b).

I imagine PA and Granny standing before the throne of the one they dedicated their lives to serve. Granny’s memory problems are now just a memory. Today, she knows and is fully known. Standing with her is PA, holding the hand he had to let go of for a short time. The love of God saves us, sustains us, and eventually carries us to a place where we will see the truest expression of love, for as Paul reminds us, “love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). Though I often don’t express my love for God as I should, He has once and for all expressed His love for me. Even when I may not remember Him, He remembers me. I will never be loved more or less than I am loved right now. I cannot fathom that kind of love, but it is as real and sure as the day.

“Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13).

Take a few moments today to reflect on all the ways God loves you, and I think you will agree that it is a love story worth telling.