Verse
of the day: 1 Corinthians 13:7 bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
To bear all things means to cover
with silence or to keep secret. Yesterdays devotional thought reminded us that
we were to avoid gossip, and part of that effort was this idea of being silent
about the downfall of others and not rejoicing in the hardships or stumbling of
others, even if it’s an enemy. In this instance of bearing all things, it means
that we are to suffer long in the avoidance of making known what others do to
us. Yes, gossip is not just about what we hear going on in someone else’s life,
but it also involves being silent about people’s faults when they affect us
directly. To bear all things means to conceal the errors and faults of others.
This is where, once again, 1 Peter 4:8 applies when the Apostle wrote, “And above all things have fervent love for one
another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” We
may be pretty good at keeping silent when the gossip does not affect us
directly; however, it becomes a completely different story when we are the ones
who are sinned against, and offended. This is where we must apply verse 4 where
it tells us that love suffers long. To bear all things means that we endure
without seeking vengeance for the wrong we may suffer. This goes hand in hand
with the latter part of this verse where we are told that love endures all
things, or perseveres under misfortunes and trials, while holding fast to our
faith. It means that as born again Christians, we should display the kind of
love that bravely, and calmly, endures ill treatment. The one thing that can
help us in that endurance is when we allow our love to believe all things. This
is not to say that we are to foolishly believe everything we hear or are told.
To believe all things is to always give the benefit of the doubt first. It is
to think better of the other person and choose to believe that their intentions
were not really evil toward us. Does this mean that this will always be the
case? No, but that does not remove the responsibility that we have, as
Christians, to first give the benefit of the doubt, until we have irrefutable
proof to the contrary. Finally, love hopes all things. In other words, no
matter what we may be called to endure, in the end we are certain that all will
work out for good, because that is what God has promised (Rom 8:28), and He,
Jesus, is our Living Hope. The bottom line is that when our hope is in God and
His promises, we can endure in silence, believing the best, because our hope is
ultimately in that fact that no matter what God allows, some day we will be
with him forevermore. Jesus endured His suffering on the Cross because of the
joy of what the outcome would be (Heb 12:2). So we too can endure with joy
knowing that as a child of God, in Christ, He is in control, all will work out
for our good and His glory, and we ultimately have Heaven to look forward to.
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