Love Endures All Things | Reset Day 3
Ptr. Genesis Tan delivered this message on the third night of the church’s RESET: Mid-year Prayer and Fasting online event on July 10, 2020.
In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote:
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor 13:7 NASB)
The Word ‘Endure’
What does it mean when Paul says love endures all things? In the original Greek language, the word “endure” is a compound word:
ὑπομένω {hupomeno}
- ‘hupo’ means under
- ‘meno’ means to continue, to remain, to abide
In the literal sense, the word “endure” means “to remain under”. This word can also mean to bear up under pressure, “to bear up courageously, or to remain patient in the midst of opposition. Sometimes, it even means to remain in a place of great difficulty instead of leaving it.
For instance, the word hupomeno was used to describe an army holding a vital position at all costs. It was used to describe a situation in which every hardship and suffering was to be endured patiently in order to hold fast because it was vital to the success of the battle. In situations where to lose ground is to lose the battle, you must hold your position to win the war.
It’s therefore not surprising that someone once said, “the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground.” The Christian life is truly a constant battle.
Family Relationships as a Battlefield
Our relationships with our family are one significant ‘battlefield’ in our Christian life. In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God created everything and He established the first institution of the family. In chapter 3, Satan, represented by the serpent, launched a fierce attack and successfully destroyed the first family that God established. And he has not stopped there because the battle continues even to this today.
Now, more than ever, the family is under fierce attack on every side. External temptations, difficult pressures, and our internal sinfulness are used by Satan to chip away at every aspect of family relationships. Satan attacks the relationships between husband and wife, parents and children, and between siblings. These conflicts also spill over to other relationships outside the family. Moreover, the current pandemic adds even more stress that can extinguish the love we have for each other.
Hold Fast and Fight for Our Families
It is only through our Lord Jesus Christ that we can fight this battle and reclaim God’s original design for the family.
Through Jesus, God saved us from the power of sin and death. Christ redeemed us from our sins and we have received Christ’s righteousness. We’re no longer condemned but instead have eternal life. And part of that redemption is also the process of restoration.
As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, He will help us restore our relationships. As we strive to become God’s kind of man and God’s kind of woman, His Spirit will empower us to reclaim God’s original design for our relationship with others.
A Saving Relationship with Jesus
For those of us who already believe in Jesus, we need to be constantly connected with Him. This is actually a commandment!
John 15:4-5: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
When we abide in Christ, we are like a branch connected to a grapevine. Thanks to this connection, we have the ability to bear much fruit – the fruit called love.
John 15:9-10: Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
It’s only when we stay connected to Jesus — when we have that intimate love relationship with Him — that we have the power to do as He commands us:
John 15:12: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Nurturing a love that endures all things
Some of us have been praying for the salvation of our parents, our spouse, our children, or our loved ones . . . but it seems God is not answering our prayers. What would help us endure in love, so we can continue praying?
Some of us have family members who are sick and taking care of them has taken a toll on us and our relationships with them. What would help us endure in love, so we can continue to care for our sick loved ones?
Some of us have family members who have sinned against us. We’ve been deeply hurt by their harsh words or by their lack of appreciation. We’ve been wounded by their pride, rebellion, or betrayal. What would help us endure in love, so we can forgive them and still love them?
As we go through new, unexpected difficulties because of this pandemic, what will help us endure in love when we’re so pressured financially, tired physically, or drained emotionally?
Dear friends, as we face these battles in our family relationships, only the love of Christ can compel us to endure. Only Christ can enable us to hold our ground and not give up on our spouse, children, or siblings. Only Christ can help us endure in love so we can win the battle of preserving and strengthening our relationships with family and loved ones.
On our own, we don’t have the capacity to endure because our love is self-centered. But when we drink deeply of God’s love, we can also give away God’s agape love – a love that is self-giving and self-sacrificing, a love who loves the sinful and the undeserving – to others. When we abide in Jesus, only when we grow in intimacy with Him, His enduring love flows through us.
You don’t have to do it alone
As in any battle, we may face setbacks and discouragement despite our best efforts. But don’t lose hope, because we don’t have to do this on our own.
I urge every one of us, if necessary, to look for people whom God will use to encourage us, pray for us, and fight alongside us. We don’t have to do this alone. Find allies who will encourage and strengthen you even as you encourage and strengthen them. Do this on a weekly basis, if not daily – so we can keep on loving, keep on giving, and keep on enduring.
Dear CBCP Family, as we strive to endure in our love. Let us hold on to God’s word for us:
1 John 4:7-8. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
May God bless us all.