1 Corinthians 13:7c love hopes all things

All things is an inclusive phrase and considering that we have been eliminating many of the negative and sinful things from consideration, all here is not inclusive. Here is how I reframe this portion of the verse to have a better understanding of how agape love hopes.

Agape love hopes that our response to His presence in our heart produces all the results He intended for us. That we would love like God, we should be holy like God, that we would shine His light on a lost world, and that agape love be actively involved in good works. That may sound like a lot to ask for in one thought but it is after all who God is in character and performance.

1 Corinthians 13:7b love believes all things

I really did not understand this verse until I had children of my own. Agape love does not believe a lie. Agape love believes there is a reason for the lie.

My girls would be fighting and I would go in to break it up and listen to each side of the story. Naturally they each had a defensive posture for the event. I found myself believing both of them. Not the words they spoke but the emotions they felt. There is always an underlying truth for each which isn’t always articulated in those moments.

Who did what is not nearly as important as why things got to this point of estrangement. Each had a guilty part in allowing things to get to the breaking point and no amount of judgment is going to heal that break.

Agape love believes both in a way that can heal wounds. Judgment will please one and alienate the other but the goal is reconciliation. They can only reconcile with each other if they both reconcile themselves to God. Both, not just one.

As a father I can only point out the truth. I cannot make them believe it. God loves in much the same way, speaking truth in love and allowing love to do its work. I will admit as a father it is a slow and frustrating thing to see how long it takes sometimes for that to sink in. I believe it will.

Looking beyond the surface helps me in all the areas of my life, especially within myself.