A Hedge of Protection

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

A HEDGE OF PROTECTION

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. It is interesting when we think about protecting something, we think about keeping whatever it is safe from any harm or theft so we put it under lock and key, such as we lock the doors of our homes. We also lock our cars when we go into a store. We want to protect our things, but this protection is about people. If we love them, we will put them under lock and key so to speak. This Greek word, stegoo, has the direct meaning to protect by covering but is also used to cover with silence, to keep a secret, to conceal. This almost sounds the opposite of gossip, which would be uncovering, not keeping a secret, and certainly not concealing anything about someone. If we love you, we will not reveal anything about you that we might be privy to. We will always protect you, covering you in our hearts and minds. We will keep any behavior that is not perfection, within and only give witness to how much you do for the kingdom of God. However, protection may be more the keeping a secret. As we continue to think about how a lock or a vault might protect our stuff, we could also build a big wall around it, in the days of Paul many cities had walls around them for protection against the attack of their enemy. We might be able to apply this to love, as it could be like building a wall around those we love, which should be everyone, and protecting them from the attack of the evil one. We recall praying about asking God to build a hedge around someone we love. There is scriptural proof that God does have a hedge of protection around us, as we think of the conversation that Satan had with God about Job. God give witness to the faith of Job to Satan, who did not have faith in God, but in himself. Satan then replies, accusing God of putting a hedge around him and his household and everything he has. He continues to accuse God of blessing the work of Job’s hands making him prosper. This is the kind of hedge we should build around those we love. We should make every effort to protect people in the way that God protects us. Of course, he protects them as well, but we are to partner with God by only giving witness to their faith and the work of their hands to advance the kingdom of God. I will protect you until my last breath.