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 13:4-8, NKJV).
Bearing All
It has been accurately noted by people way smarter than me that true Christianity is rife with paradoxes, at least from the worldly perspective.
“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:25, NKJV).
...“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35, NKJV).
“Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4, NKJV).
“...he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves." (Luke 22:26, NKJV).
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11, NKJV).
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10, NKJV)
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…" (James 1:2, NKJV).
I don't know how many times in my life I've said something like, "I can't take it anymore!" or "I can't bear it!" or "I'm fed up!" or "I've had enough!" It's funny though, I don't believe I've ever said that about something pleasant or good, but only about pain or inconvenience or grief or tedium. And in those declarations of intolerance I am also confessing that what is motivating me at that moment is NOT agape love, but self-love, which is the opposite.
Although it is impossible in and of ourselves to comprehend the width and length and depth and height of Christ's love, we can nevertheless know the unknowable (yet another paradox) by His Spirit within us (Eph 3:18,19). It makes sense when you think about it, because there are plenty of other impossible things He empowers us to accomplish as His children. It is His gifting alone that enables us to know and come to God, have faith, be saved forever, endure, persevere, discern truth, comprehend doctrine, speak boldly, supply comfort, sin less, desire righteousness, seek His counsel, have fellowship with Him, live and move and have our being. If our moment-by-moment waking existence was fully surrendered to that empowerment our lives would be very different, our impact on others profound, and our witness indomitably powerful.
By telling us that agape love BEARS ALL THINGS, Paul is not only encapsulating all those apparent paradoxes in one succinct statement, but he is also giving us insight into three additional implications of this kind of love.
The first is that love DESIRES to bear all things, not out of a sense of martyrdom or masochism, but on BEHALF of the beloved and for the GOOD of the beloved. Whatever offense, or betrayal, or doubt, or apathy, or rebellion, or disrespect, or anything else that the beloved causes or does is borne by the lover because that is what true love does. It is its essential nature. That is why God Himself IS love.
Secondly, this bearing also comes into play in "bearing one another's burdens", in coming alongside in support and nurture. True agape love is the very ground beneath the feet of the beloved. It is the hedge of protection and the arm of redemption no matter what the cost. It is the unfailing loyalty and unrelenting trustworthiness that forms the foundation of the love relationship. Without it, nothing can last.
And finally, agape love BEARS ALL THINGS because to do otherwise is to abandon, to break that which should never be broken, and to make conditional that which should be unconditional. The ultimate source of this kind of love, after all, is the very heart of God. As it is said, we love because He first loved us.
Perhaps this desire to bear all is the single distinctive of agape love in this passage that points us most directly to the Cross of Christ, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness..." (1 Peter 2:24, NKJV). "…who for the joy that was set before Him (our redemption and everlasting life) endured the cross, despising the shame…" (Heb 12:2).
Bearing All
It has been accurately noted by people way smarter than me that true Christianity is rife with paradoxes, at least from the worldly perspective.
“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:25, NKJV).
...“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35, NKJV).
“Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4, NKJV).
“...he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves." (Luke 22:26, NKJV).
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11, NKJV).
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10, NKJV)
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…" (James 1:2, NKJV).
I don't know how many times in my life I've said something like, "I can't take it anymore!" or "I can't bear it!" or "I'm fed up!" or "I've had enough!" It's funny though, I don't believe I've ever said that about something pleasant or good, but only about pain or inconvenience or grief or tedium. And in those declarations of intolerance I am also confessing that what is motivating me at that moment is NOT agape love, but self-love, which is the opposite.
Although it is impossible in and of ourselves to comprehend the width and length and depth and height of Christ's love, we can nevertheless know the unknowable (yet another paradox) by His Spirit within us (Eph 3:18,19). It makes sense when you think about it, because there are plenty of other impossible things He empowers us to accomplish as His children. It is His gifting alone that enables us to know and come to God, have faith, be saved forever, endure, persevere, discern truth, comprehend doctrine, speak boldly, supply comfort, sin less, desire righteousness, seek His counsel, have fellowship with Him, live and move and have our being. If our moment-by-moment waking existence was fully surrendered to that empowerment our lives would be very different, our impact on others profound, and our witness indomitably powerful.
By telling us that agape love BEARS ALL THINGS, Paul is not only encapsulating all those apparent paradoxes in one succinct statement, but he is also giving us insight into three additional implications of this kind of love.
The first is that love DESIRES to bear all things, not out of a sense of martyrdom or masochism, but on BEHALF of the beloved and for the GOOD of the beloved. Whatever offense, or betrayal, or doubt, or apathy, or rebellion, or disrespect, or anything else that the beloved causes or does is borne by the lover because that is what true love does. It is its essential nature. That is why God Himself IS love.
Secondly, this bearing also comes into play in "bearing one another's burdens", in coming alongside in support and nurture. True agape love is the very ground beneath the feet of the beloved. It is the hedge of protection and the arm of redemption no matter what the cost. It is the unfailing loyalty and unrelenting trustworthiness that forms the foundation of the love relationship. Without it, nothing can last.
And finally, agape love BEARS ALL THINGS because to do otherwise is to abandon, to break that which should never be broken, and to make conditional that which should be unconditional. The ultimate source of this kind of love, after all, is the very heart of God. As it is said, we love because He first loved us.
Perhaps this desire to bear all is the single distinctive of agape love in this passage that points us most directly to the Cross of Christ, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness..." (1 Peter 2:24, NKJV). "…who for the joy that was set before Him (our redemption and everlasting life) endured the cross, despising the shame…" (Heb 12:2).
