In last week’s blogs, we emphasized how love behaves.  In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul gives us some very specific characteristics of love.  Remember, we are dealing with agapé which is a reasoned choice; thus, these characteristics are ones that we possess or avoid by choice.  We have already looked at eleven of the fifteen behaviors of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).  Let us now look at the final four.

Love bears all things.  The Greek word for bear is stegō and is one of those words that has evolved over the years.  It first meant “to roof over or cover” (Strong).  If this is what Paul meant, the thought would be the same as suggested by Peter when he said, “…for love shall cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).  There are a few ways in which this would be done.  First, by the willingness to forgive and forget.  Love does not wish to run out and expose the fault and flaws of others, but instead, it tries to help the guilty party to overcome.  Love, in other words, seeks a loving solution when sin occurs.  Jesus helps us with how to do this when one sins against us.  We must not gossip about it, but , instead, go directly to the brother and try to bring the situation to a proper resolution (Matthew. 18:15-17).

Over time, however, this word came to mean “to endure suffering patiently” (Strong).  If this is what Paul had in mind, the thought would be that love can handle any affliction or persecution which comes upon it.  Love stands up under the weight of difficult times.

Love believes all things.  This statement must be modified by the immediate context.  It does not mean that we must be gullible.  Christians must always study so that they can believe what is doctrinally right and reject error.  Furthermore, the Christian is not to be gullible in the affairs of this life.  John Calvin rightly remarked, “the Christian is not so stupid as to cast aside wisdom and discernment so as to be easily cheated.”  What Paul is saying here is that when love has no evidence to the contrary, it believes the best about its fellowman.  Love motivates brethren to give one another the benefit of the doubt.  When you hear something negative about another brother, you do not immediately accept it.  Love causes you to believe in your brother.

Love hopes all things.   Since love motivates you to believe the best about your brother, if you hear a bad report about him, you “hope all things.”  In other words, when the evidence points against a brother in Christ, those who love him hope that he will be vindicated.  If we love as we should, when there is no evidence, we believe the best, and when the evidence is adverse, we hope for the best.

Love endures all things.  This is very much like the first attribute of love, that is, patience.  Trench’s “Synonyms of the New Testament”  distinguishes the two by saying that the word patience has to do with people and the word endure here has to do with things.  Hence, love has patience in all circumstances.

Now we know how love acts.  For the most part, these are all characteristics of God, since God is love (1 John 4:8).  When we love as we should, we are securing for ourselves a home in heaven because we are behaving the way God demands that we do; we are behaving like Him (Matthew 5:46-48).

Let us all examine ourselves to make sure we love the way we should.  Do not forget, without love we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).  

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.