In All Things From The Love Standard Series
“It (Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:7 CSB
Friend, can you remember the sheer excitement and happiness you felt on the day you were married? I can. I was so excited until it came time to walk down the aisle and then I became so nervous that my arm jerked, and I cried as I was walking down the aisle. I’m sure people wondered what in the world was wrong with me. However, the excitement came back after the nerves settled and our wedding day was one of the happiest days of my life.
I was reflecting on something though as I was reading this verse. It’s easy to concentrate on the good and easy times that come our way in our marriages but what about when the hard times come? What do we do in the hard times? What do we do when we receive terrible news regarding a health crisis? What do we do when the finances are tight or not there at all? What do we do when the love is not flowing like it once was? What do we do when the unthinkable gets dumped in our laps? What do we do when the job gets cut? Or when bad decisions are made that affects us?
Our key verse gives us the answer to the good times but more importantly it gives us the answer in the bad and hard times. 1 Corinthians 13:7 tells us that love bears all things. Love believes all things. Love hopes in all things. And love endures all things. The key word here is ALL. Notice it doesn’t say some things and it doesn’t say that we get to pick either. It says” all” things.
In our women’s group at church, we are doing an in-depth Bible study on how to study the Bible and one of the tools we have been discussing is looking up words to see their definition – even if you know the definition. Oftentimes, it will give you insight into the meaning of the verse or the context surrounding the verse. So, let’s look up a few words.
Bear: Carry the weight of; support or endure (an ordeal or difficulty)
Believe: Accept something as true; feel sure of the truth of.
Hope: A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. A feeling of trust.
Endure: Suffer patiently or remain in existence; last.
So, we could read this verse to say this…
Love (bears) carries the weight of and supports in all things, love (believes) accepts something as true in all things, love (hopes) has a feeling of trust in all things, and love (endures) suffers patiently in all things.”
Wow! Just putting the definitions in the verse really opens my eyes to what God is trying to show me about love. The bottom line is this – Love does not quit. Love endures through thick and thin. No matter what the situation is – Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures in ALL things.
See, marriage is supposed to be a covenant relationship between us, our husband, and God. Covenant love is the kind of love that is “I do, even when you don’t”, and the kind of love that is “I will, even when you won’t.” It is a promise that doesn’t depend on the other person’s actions. That is how Jesus loves.
I ran across a couple of quotes that really stuck out to me and I want to share them with you.
“Marriage is an ongoing, vivid illustration of what it costs to love an imperfect person unconditionally… The same way Christ has loved us.” Fiercemarriage.com
“God doesn’t want me to be a “Fix Him” wife. God wants ME to be a “Love Him” wife.” Lysa Terkeurst
“I want my life and my marriage to look less like the world and more like Christ.” Marquis Clarke
“If we look to our spouses to fill up our tanks in a way that only God can do, we are demanding an impossibility.” Tim Keller
These quotes are so true. Our key verse is a picture of how Christ loves us. No matter what we do or how we act – His love never wavers. He gave us the perfect example for love.
In a culture that bombards us with how we are supposed to look and act and how our marriages are supposed to be, I can’t think of a better prayer for our marriages than the quote by Marquis Clark.
Friend let’s be a “in all things” kind of wife. Let’s be more like Jesus and less like the world.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your example of love. You have not only told us about the standard for love, but you have demonstrated it to us as well. Lord, my prayer is that my life and my marriage look less like the world’s standard and look more like Christ – who is the perfect example of love. Teach me how to love like this. Teach me how to be an “in all things” kind of wife. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:32 CSB
Reflection – Challenge # 6
Out of the following: Bear, Believe, Hope, and Endure – which one do you struggle with the most?
Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal any areas that you could be holding onto that makes it difficult for you to do this area with an “in all things” mindset.
What can you do this week that would help you show your husband these character traits of love? If you need help – pray about it. Commit to an “in all things” attitude then shower him with love.