What an honor it is to be loved by a faithful Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally right where we are, but He is also the ultimate example of what love is all about. There is no better way to learn about love than from the very author of love Himself. I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful to be on this journey towards a deeper understanding of God’s love. This journey has truly been a refreshing to my spirit in more ways then I can even express in words. We still have four more concepts about love to cover from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and they are, love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Let’s jump right in shall we?
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love always protects.
The Latin origin of the word “protect” literally means to cover over or to walk in front of. When we think of protection our minds often go towards our own desire to keep hurt, pain and suffering from those we love. This can not always be the case. Love may not take the pain away, but like a bandage, it covers over and protects the wounds that have already been inflicted. Love comes alongside and holds our hands when the road of life gets rockier than we anticipated. God’s love works in an even greater measure than this simple bandage analogy. God’s love not only covers our wounds, but His love actually brings the healing oil that allows those wounds to begin the healing process. When we love with the love of Christ, we bring not only the covering of God’s love to others (the bandage) but also the healing oil that can change a heart for eternity.
Love always trusts.
I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this one because putting it plainly, our humanness is not always trustworthy. I don’t know about you, but I have dropped the ball a time or two and have needed to regain trust in different areas of my life. When I read this verse my mind immediately reverted in that direction. How is it even possible for love to always trust when we in our humanness are not always trustworthy? This is why I love studying out scripture because the Lord has a way of changing my views on things, especially when I am careful to keep a teachable spirit about me. This word “trusts” comes from the Greek word “pistis” which means: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. So, in other words, love believes in others. Love has faith that God is going to work in the heart even in those moments when the wrong path might be chosen. Love has confidence in God that He is going to bring the heart to a place where it will call upon the name of the Lord and seek His face. The takeaway here is this, when we put our focus on the sin that people are entangled in, we will become discouraged, but when we put our trust, faith, and confidence in our Heavenly Father’s love for that person, it is then that our love for them has the ability to always trust. Not that we are trusting in their ability to choose righteousness, but that we trust in the ability of our Heavenly Father to give them a desire to choose righteousness for themselves. Love always trusts God’s ability to do His part in the situation.
God’s love always trusts in us. His love always has full faith in our potential. Our Heavenly Father is our biggest cheerleader. He desires for us to succeed in His kingdom. He believes in each and every one of us! What a precious thought to know that the Lord is our greatest supporter no matter what we are facing. We might be choosing the valley of the shadow of death, but God believes in the potential that He has created us for. His love trusts in us!
Love always hopes.
This word “hopes” means to expect or anticipate. When love always hopes, it is expecting and anticipating great things. Just like we talked about our trust needing to be in our Heavenly Father to see change brought about in the hearts and lives of those around us, our hope needs to lie in those same hands. When we hope in people we will be disappointed time and time again, but when our hope is in the Lord and His perfect timing for those around us we will never be disappointed. God’s love never fails. We don’t always see things turn out the way we wanted, but that does not mean that love should stop hoping. God’s love expects beauty to come from our ashes, strength to spring forth from our fears, gladness to take the place of our morning and peace to replace our despair. These things are all possible because we have a God who loves hopes for us.
Love always perseveres.
I think there is a reason why “love always perseveres” is the last on the list in this section of scripture. The Lord truly has saved the best characteristic of love for last! GOD’S LOVE WILL NOT QUIT ON US!!!!! His love will never fail, never give up or run out on us. It will never fade, grow tired, or become weary. His love will never weaken, never waver or soften one us in the slightest. It is unshakeable, unstoppable, unrelenting and unyielding. God’s love is immovable, constant, persistent and endless. His love does not slow down, take a break or relax. God’s love for you and I is intense, unquenchable and relentless. His love seeks and saves! God’s love never stops, it always perseveres. Wow! It’s no wonder we have a difficult time loving with the love of Christ. How many people do we truly love with that much intensity? I know I have a long way to go in this department. I pray that God teaches me how to love with the intensity of Christ.
Heavenly Father, there are not enough words to begin to express the gratitude in our hearts for the immense love you shower on us each and every second of every single day. Thank you that your love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Help us to love others in such a way that we put our trust and hope in you in their hearts and not become discouraged when they don’t choose righteousness. Thank you for this intense love that does not waver in the slightest over us. Thank you for loving us recklessly. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
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