Loves is…

1 Corinthians 13:6b-8a ESV

“…But (love) rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

This type of love is agape love. Agape love is a term that means a godly, selfless love, a Christ like love. Paul writes this letter to the church at Corinth because they did not have this type of love working in their ranks. The Corinthians were vile people, so these new converts had to be taught a new way of life and in this passage, a new way to love each other.

Love rejoices with the truth. When people are living honest, sincere lives, speaking truth with one another, it is blessed by God. There will be haters that cannot stand the truth, but the truth needs to be spoken whether it is popular or not.

Love bears all things. It is difficult at times to bear with a Christian that acts unseemly. We do not allow them to hurt us, but we stand in faith and pray for them and ask God to deliver them. In the church at Corinth, contentions were a norm, Paul is addressing this situation by teaching them to practice love even when it is difficult.

Love believes all things. This is an openness. We all get preconceived notions at times and breaking that barrier is difficult at best. Be open to the truth.

Love hopes all things. This is a stretching, looking beyond what is present, seeking more of God, seeking more in relationships.

Love endures all things. Enduring with change or even a fellow Christian can be hard, Paul is asking the church to keep pressing on despite how things look to us. Often in relationships this endurance is working through difficult situations.

Love never ends. Best of all, love should never end. Even if relationships become strained, keep loving, keep hoping, keep believing. Never allow someone to get us to the point where we stop loving and start to hate.

Prayer:

Lord, guard our hearts at all costs. Help us in relationships inside and outside the church. Let the world see us as people that love no matter what people are saying or doing, we will still love. Let us be known as people who love and do not hate as the world does. In Your name Lord Jesus, Amen!