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.
Yesterday, we considered the first two commitments of Christlike love: Love bears all things and believes all things. Today, we consider the following two: Love hopes all things and endures all things.
In Recap…
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. In many ways, mercy is a great way to think through this concept of bearing all things. Mercy chooses to not give someone what they deserve, as Christ.
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. Further, 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.
Love Hopes All Things
When we consider love hoping all things, we recognize that love trusts God’s grace and power to change. Especially when sinned against, hurt, or otherwise annoyed by another person, most people find it easy to not hope all things. Change does not seem likely to us. Possibly we have known others in the past who have said they were going to change, but then, the person never does change. In all reality, we may not need to look at others at all. Maybe our own personal stories include areas where we have sought to change, but change still alludes us. Looking at ourselves or at the stories of others both can lead us to the believe that God’s grace in the life of certain people with certain issues does not include the power to change. However, our own personal experiences nor those of others can rule our faith. Instead, we must trust in a God who does provide grace unto change (i.e., Eph 2:10; 2 Cor 5:16-17; 1 Cor 6:9-11: Titus 2:11-14).
Christlike love hopes in God’s working in another person. Love takes serious the Bible’s teaching that God begins a good work in someone and continues it in them throughout their life on earth, culminating in completion in heaven (i.e., Rom 8:28-30; Eph 2:8-10; Phil 2:12-13). God does His best work in people, including sinners like the ones you know as well as the one you are. God works in the sinners and sufferers, the strong and the weak, the pride and the humble, the wise and the foolish, and everyone else.
In one way, we could say, love is optimistic in the great work of an omnipotent, omniscient God. If the grace of God can change a person from dead in sins to alive in Jesus Christ, then the grace of God can change a person from one degree of sanctification to the next.
Love Endures All Things
When we consider love enduring all things, we recognize that Christlike love is committed and stands fast. Jesus is our example. Consider how Jesus stuck to His disciples even when they were not sticking with Him. Jesus was the first to turn to Peter. Jesus called for Peter after the resurrection. When Jesus told the disciples that Satan desired to sift them as wheat, the disciples basically ignored Jesus’ warning. Jesus told them He looked forward to their future work. Literally moments before Jesus’ death, the disciples argue over who is the greatest. Jesus responds with patience and kindness.
Our love has Jesus’ love as our example.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:34-39)
Christlike love commits to others and stands fast with them. To the sinners we live with, are married to, parent, work alongside, worship with, and in every other way do life around, they need Christlike love. As do we.
In a world where we are inevitably taught by experience, example, and sometimes outrightly that nothing lasts, we must reaffirm in our own minds and hearts the truth that Christlike love lasts.
Just typing those words brings a special friend to mind who sacrificially lives this by example every single day. Then another friend. And another. And another. I force myself as I type to not think of any more people because I have known so many over the years as a friend, pastor, and counselor. On many levels, I experience it everyday as well within my own marriage of twenty-five plus years.
Where Do I Live Out These Four Commitments to Christlike Love?
Everywhere. Home. Church. Work. School. Neighborhoods. Communities. Families. Friend groups. On social media. Everywhere.
As we consider the four commitments to Christlike love, here are a series of questions to help you consider it.
- 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?
- Does your love hope all things? Do you believe that God’s power can change other people generally and that other person on your mind specifically? How powerful in your functional theology is God’s grace unto change? In your mind, is it possible that God saves but does not sanctify?
- Does your love endure all things? How committed is your love to others? Do you love others as Christ with determination, steadfastness, and reliability? Is it possible your love is impatient, angry, and does not persevere?
May each of us love others as Christ fulfilling these four commitments of Christlike love.
Image Credit Priscilla Du Preez
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