Weekly Passage:
1 Corinthians 13:7
“(Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”
In our previous devotion, we dove deep into 1 Corinthians 13:6, “(Love) does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;” Our focus this past year has been, and continues to be, learning to love others as Christ loves us. As I have shared before, my definition of love differs from God’s definition of love. God is teaching me that HE is the authority on all things. In light of that truth, if my definition is different than His, my definition is wrong!! “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
This week, we will be looking intently into verse 7. What does it mean that “love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things”? At first glance, it may be tempting to think that if you love someone then you are to overlook his/her faults and pretend that they do not exist. This is not an accurate understanding of this passage of Scripture. Remember, we must ALWAYS study Scripture in context – seeking to understand exactly what the writer is explaining to us so that we will accurately study the Word of God.
Now, I know it has been several weeks since I last posted a devotion (and I apologize for my inconsistency this year), but try to reflect back on what we have been learning as we have mined our way through 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. We have learned that God commands us to love others as HE loves us. These powerful verses hold a detailed outline of what true, Christ-like love is and how we are to demonstrate that love but it also reveals the very character of God! 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love…” God’s love was demonstrate in its upmost glory on the cross where Christ Jesus died as a payment for our sin!! “But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
My Friend, BEFORE we were even conceived, God loved us enough to provide a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. HE sacrificed His own Son to be a ransom for us. Christ Jesus became a substitute for us so that we would not have to face the full wrath of God. God is love and HE is holy!! His holiness demands payment for sin and His love provided that payment! When we look deep into our focal passage - “(Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” – we cannot help but see the glory of God and His grace and mercy flowing from the cross!! The entire first portion of 1 Corinthians 13 is describing agape love. A love that is a deliberate choice on the part of the one who loves…It is NOT based on the worthiness of the one who is loved.
In other words, true, Christ-like love is a deliberate choice and a Christ-like attitude of the heart. God commands us to love and HE alone equips us to love according to His command. When we truly understand who God is and what HE sacrificed to redeem us then we will desire to obey His every command. We know full well that we are fully equipped by the Holy Spirit to glorify the Lord God completely (see Ephesians 1). Christ-like love does not overlook sin but rather it confronts sin with the truth of God’s Word for the sole purpose of pointing that person to Christ. We are called to love as Christ and in order to do that, we must deliberately choose to love others as Christ loves us…Understanding that no matter what offense someone may do to us, WE have done FAR WORSE to the Lord God YET HE loved us and gave Himself up for us in order that we might be saved.
Christ Jesus is the Supreme Example of how we are to love one another. We are able to fully forgive and to love as HE loves us when we are surrendered to Him, fully dependent upon Him, willing to obey Him with our whole hearts. We must remember we were not created for ourselves but rather we were created to glorify the Lord God and to point others to Christ. This world is a very Unloving place but God’s children can be a light that shines in a dark and dying world and we can love others in a way that points them to the cross where they too can find forgiveness of sin, an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, restoration, and healing!!
Life Application Question:
How do you love? What are you demonstrating by the way you respond to those around you?
May we each call upon the name of the Lord and ask Him to forgive us for the times we have not loved as HE loves us and ask Him to teach us to love others in a way that honors Him.
