Hope and Perseveres

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

HOPE AND PERSEVERES

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. Let us consider this hope and see how it fits into loving each other. The Greek word translated as hope is elpizo, that comes from the base word elpis. Both words are used for hope, with elpizo sometimes used in the sense that, I trust you will send, instead of, I hope you will send. But it is an expectation. It can be used positively or negatively, in that sense that we hope this does not happen or we hope that Jesus is coming for us. We might say that we believe that Jesus is returning, or trust that he will come for us, or have this positive expectation of His return. When we apply this to love for each other we always have this hope, this positive expectation that the ones we love well do the right thing, or love God, or be with us in the new creation, We are always hoping for the best for our loved ones, who again, is everyone, especially those who are in the body of Christs. It is interesting that if we always expect the best for others, it would do away with envy, jealousy, and even greed. We will also always hope for the best in those we love. That is we expect them to be the best they can be in their walk with the Lord. This would mean that we are always about encouraging them in their walk, seeking to enhance their relationship with the Lord. Along with all this hope we have for and in those we love, we also will always never give up on them, never stop loving them, no matter what. Certainly, the Greek word hupomenoo carries the meaning to preserver absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ. Therefore, we can apply this to how we will hold fast to our love for each other under any circumstances whether everything is all good or if there are times of not so good. This would directly be applied in a marriage, but it can also be applied in the community of faith. Let us always remember how love is defined for us, and always know that we decided to love each other, it is our choice and we made it because we love the Lord, and the Lord loves all of us, so we have decided to always love you.