Love is patient,

love is kind.

It does not envy,

it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude,

it is not selfseeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

– I Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

Lately, for some reason, simple truths that I’ve read many times have begun to jump out at me (hence all the “wow, isn’t this cool?!” Bible posts).

I am especially struck by the last two passages above. Love rejoices in the truth. Truth – so important, so vital in an age where truth is mocked, where it is considered intangible and relative.

Love always protects. Yes. Love stands in the gap. It flings itself on top of the grenade. It rushes into battle for its beloved. Love spreads its arms wide to be nailed to a cross.

Always trusts, always hopes. Love is not naive. But love understands that with God anything is possible. Trust and hope are powerful weapons in a cynical and mocking world.

There are those who have no hope because they have never had anyone hope anything for them. “You’ll never amount to anything”. “You’re worthless”. These are the words they have been bathed in all their lives. And yet in Christ we can hope – we possess hope – because we know that He accomplishes in us His good pleasure, and builds us up into a beautiful work of art for His glory, no matter how ugly we may think we are.

We hope because love always perseveres. Love never fails.

Never. Love does not give up. Love will go to Golgotha for its beloved, even when its beloved is the one carrying the whips and the nails.

Amazing.