What Love Is

1 Corinthians 13:7–8 (ESV) declares:

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

Love is eternal in nature and is also an essential attribute of God. Scripture reminds us in

1 John 4:8 (ESV):

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

If we are truly followers of Jesus Christ, then love must define who we are. This brings us to an important question: What is love?

The Apostle Paul answers this in 1 Corinthians 13:7–8, outlining five facets of genuine, Christ-centered love:

• Love bears all things

• Love believes all things

• Love hopes all things

• Love endures all things

• Love never ends

Let us examine each of these:

Love Bears All Things

Love patiently carries faults, burdens, and hardships. It does not abandon others when life becomes heavy. Instead, it stands alongside them, offering grace, patience, and compassion.

Love Believes All Things

This speaks to maintaining a trusting and hopeful outlook. Love chooses faith over suspicion and encouragement over doubt. It looks for God’s potential in people rather than focusing on their failures.

Love Hopes All Things

Love remains confident about the future. It holds onto God’s promises and believes that change, healing, and restoration are possible even when circumstances suggest otherwise.

Love Endures All Things

This describes a profound, resilient, and unyielding love that perseveres through hardship, suffering, and pain without giving up.

The word endure comes from the Greek hupomenó, meaning to remain under, to abide, to patiently persevere. It paints the picture of standing firm while under severe pressure.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of this enduring love. He endured ridicule, betrayal, being spat upon, false accusations, brutal whipping, and ultimately death on the cross all out of love for humanity.

Isaiah prophesied of this sacrificial suffering in Isaiah 53:5:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

Jesus endured everything so that we could be redeemed. Likewise, we are called to love one another with this same enduring love one that perseveres through challenges, disappointments, and pain. At baptism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to align our character with Christ and love beyond our natural limits.

Love Never Ends

True, selfless love is permanent, eternal, and indestructible. While knowledge fades and spiritual gifts cease, love remains. Love outlasts circumstances, survives trials, and carries eternal significance.

Conclusion 

God is love and when His Spirit lives in us, love becomes our calling, our witness, and our strength. May we strive daily to bear, believe, hope, endure, and live in a love that never fails.