1 Corinthians 13:7a love Beareth all things

Here is a prime example of how agape love acts and gives us an opportunity to measure ourselves in comparison. God’s agape love never changes because of circumstances. I could get extreme here but I don’t think it would gain us anything of value.

So what is a less dramatic example of those things we can bear up to in life? How about when people are rude to you? Is it easier now than before you came to Christ to put up with rude people? Do you still take it personally or do you see their rejection as rejecting the Lord and not you?

When people get snippy with you, do you snipe back or hold your tongue? Are you getting better at resisting old negative reactions? While God’s perfect love does not change and can bear up to anything, all we can expect realistically is to get better at loving like God loves. His abiding love is an encouragement to better behavior.

The more difficult or severe the suffering is that we are asked to endure, the more we have to rely on God’s enhancement of our soul. We will never know unless we are tested and we do get tested. Life itself, even without the devil’s hand, is a test of endurance. I won’t rely on the old tired adage, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I rather believe what the Lord does in us makes it easier to endure.

I think that is a fair comparison of agape love and our ability to grow in that love. While I don’t want you to be too harsh on yourselves, I also do not wish for you to be complacent with your current performance. We need to strive for better than before. Small gains are better than none.