“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
In this context "bears" stems from the Greek word stego which by definition means: to keep secret, to hide, conceal, to cover over with silence...by covering to keep off something which threatens, to bear up against, hold out against, and so endure.
Just like ships keep the water out to prevent them from sinking and roofs the rain, in a torrential storm, so does love keep out that which would injure (albeit words, actions, etc.) another.
Out of sincere, loving, and authentic concern for others, love will do what it can to conceal the difficulty and failures to cover the sin.
"Love covers a multitude of sins" 1 Peter 4:8
John MacArthur puts it this way: "With the Corinthians, they were just waiting to expose somebody. Love dismisses the sins of those in view of its affections. It doesn't pounce on them. It doesn't proclaim them. Love warns, yes; it exhorts; yes; it rebukes, yes; and it covers. Beautiful characteristic and it should be part of all of our lives to live that way."
Another way that it "bears all" is by praying for and encouraging those you love when they are struggling or going through trials because you know it's the right thing to do, whether or not you feel like it.
Out of sincere, loving, and authentic concern for others, love will do what it can to conceal the difficulty and failures to cover the sin.
"Love covers a multitude of sins" 1 Peter 4:8
John MacArthur puts it this way: "With the Corinthians, they were just waiting to expose somebody. Love dismisses the sins of those in view of its affections. It doesn't pounce on them. It doesn't proclaim them. Love warns, yes; it exhorts; yes; it rebukes, yes; and it covers. Beautiful characteristic and it should be part of all of our lives to live that way."
Another way that it "bears all" is by praying for and encouraging those you love when they are struggling or going through trials because you know it's the right thing to do, whether or not you feel like it.
Bearing each other's burdens can be quite difficult since it requires sacrifice on our part. Some ways we may experience this is as follows:
Our Time: Love is flexible by taking that phone call in the middle of the night when it's certainly not convenient.
Emotionally Draining: Love endures even when someone is needy.
Dying to Self: Love places the needs of others before self. You may have to drop everything you had planned for the day, in order to meet up with a friend who is stressed out and just needs a listening ear.
Sometimes we can become frustrated with people and their personal struggles, but it's in those moments that we need to be reminded of Jesus and the example He demonstrated by "bearing all things." Though the Pharisees were arrogant and always looking for ways to catch Him off guard, He was kind and loved them. Then we get to the ultimate sacrifice when His body was broken and crushed for the sins of the world, He endured. Although the soldiers spat on Him, taunted and mocked Him, still He had compassion and forgave them.
He. Loved. Everyone.
LOVE (Jesus) didn't expose our filthy weaknesses, He covered our sin. Shouldn't we aspire to do the same for others?
Love,
Ashley
No comments:
Post a Comment