Four Commitments of Christlike Love

As followers of Christ, we choose to love each other like Christ loves. Often it is hard, but we determine every day to make love one of the chief characteristics of our lives. Why? Because Jesus loves us, we who are committed to becoming like Jesus in our thoughts, attitudes, desires, and actions choose to love others as Christ. Again, as possibly you could explain very well, choosing to love others can be highly difficult. In marriage? Yes. In friendships? Yes. In families? Yes. In church families? Yes. In workplaces? Yes. In almost every situation. For this reason, it is necessary to know and practice four commitments of Christlike love.

Four Commitments of Christlike Love

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

(1 Corinthians 13:7)

These, of course, are not the only commitments of love; however, these four commitments of Christlike love will serve you well in every area of your life.

Love Bears All Things

When we consider love bearing all things, we want to think of this in terms of love covers, supports, and helps another. Love covers a multitude of inconsistencies, misunderstandings, and potential misperceptions. I often think of this as using oven mitts or pot holders. As you are ready to take something hot off the stove, you put a pot holder on in order to touch the skillet or pot. This extra protection allows you to touch the skillet or pot without getting burned. In a similar way, love provides the necessary covering to get close to someone who is imperfect, inconsistent, and different. Love covers.

Likewise, it supports and helps another too. Bearing all things is a commitment that allows us to get close and then do something. What is needed? How can this other person be helped? What act of kindness helps alleviate the other person’s load? Back to the pot holder illustration again. Once you get close to the hot item, the pot holder bears some weight too. It is used to pick something us, carry it, move it, or use it.

In many ways, mercy is a great way to think through this concept of bearing all things. Mercy chooses to not give someone what you think they may deserve. God’s mercy on us in Christ spares us from many, many consequences. We deserve so many things, yet God’s mercy spares us of that judgement. Likewise, many times those imperfect people around us “deserve” less than our love, yet mercy spares them that judgement. Why? Because we bear all things with Christlike love.

Love Believes All Things

When we consider love believing all things, we can consider this in two senses, both negative and positive. Christlike love chooses not to be suspicious or cynical. Boy can this be difficult! This commitment of Christlike love applies to what we think we see, what we think we hear, and what we think we know. First lets consider what we think we see. For instance, the other person has what you consider to be a funny look on his or her face or, in your estimation, rolls his or her eyes. In this instance, we can draw quick assumptions.

What about what we hear? Possibly we pick up a tone we do not like. Maybe it is the words the other person uses. It could even be an outright answer to a question we ask or the details of a story that is told. In all these usages of words, love commits to believe all things.

What about what we think we know? Again, love chooses to believe all things. It is so easy to believe that we know another person’s motives, thoughts, or reasons for doing something or not doing something. For instance, someone does not call who says he or she will call. Maybe a person invites others to a meal and does not invite you. Possibly someone walks the other way or looks the other way as you approach that person. Maybe a conversation you walk into seems awkward upon your arrival. In all of these instances and hundreds more, love believes all things. Love does not jump to conclusions. Love believes the best.

On the positive side, Christlike love chooses instead to trust God with the truth. In all those areas where we simply do not know a motive, the exact truth, the veracity of a claim, the honesty of the other person, or the sincerity of another, love chooses to believe what is best and trust God with whatever the truth is. We trust God’s providence to make the invisible visible in the future if we need to know something. We choose not to test the other individual but deal honestly with him or her, trusting God with the other person’s heart or outcome.

Why do we do these things? Because love believes all things.

This Gets Us Started

Tomorrow we will tackle the next two commitments of Christlike love. These two get us started and allow us to begin applying how we choose to love others around us today.

Does your love bear all things? Would you say that your love covers, supports, and helps others? Just those you really like or does your love bear all things for those you do not like as much too? Does your love bear all things?

Does your love believe all things? Do you assume your discern something? When you watch and listen to others, do you “know” what those others are thinking? Do you give others the benefit of the doubt? Do you believe all things?

Tomorrow, we will tackle Love hopes all things and Love endures all things. Until then, may God bless your efforts to bear and believe as Jesus.