“⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

The Greek word used here means “to believe, place faith in, or trust.” I really like how the website www.gotquestions.org explains this passage:

“Those who love will always ‘believe’ in the other person. There is no second-guessing or questioning of whether the person should be loved. Love is simply given. It is unconditional. The loved one does not need to perform anything or achieve a certain goal in order to be loved. Just as Christ loves His children unconditionally, He calls us to love others. Love is based on who He is, not on what others do.

A person with God’s type of love will ‘always trust.’ That is, he will not be suspicious of the one he loves. He will be slow to believe any damaging news concerning the loved one and will always give the benefit of the doubt. Whatever the situation, love is ready to trust. To trust someone means that you are ‘ever ready to believe the best’ (AMP) of him or her. The loved one may have a checkered past or be in some other way undeserving of trust, yet true love is able to look past that and meet the need of the individual. Mistrust, cageyness, and suspicion are at odds with godly love.

If brothers and sisters in Christ would believe in one another, setting suspicion aside and extending unconditional love, what a difference it would make in the church! When our focus is on Christ, we can show His love to meet the needs of others.”

I was not a perfect kid, but I was pretty good. I believe that one of the reasons is that my parents not only set a good example for me, they always believed in me and had high hopes for me. I remember my Dad telling me once that he was confident that I would make the right decision about something because I was a leader. I remember being shocked. Me, a leader? I had never thought of myself in that way. Dad saw something in me that I had not seen in myself, and he instilled into me something that he believed I could aspire to. That’s a lesson I never forgot. He believed and saw potential in me.

Again, the website www.gotquestions.org really explains this passage perfectly:

“Part of showing love is hoping, and part of hoping is seeing the potential of others. As Goethe said, ‘If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.’ In love, we can always be hopeful and show confidence in others. This does not rule out confrontation or the redress of wrongs, but the impact of a positive attitude in the life of another person is incalculable.

How many times in the Old Testament did Israel fail God? Yet their failure was never final. Love never says die. Peter failed Jesus, yet the Lord restored him. The Corinthians failed Paul in some ways, yet the apostle, in love, patiently corrected them and called them ‘sanctified’ (1 Corinthians 1:2). Love always points to a brighter day ahead. Love is the lifeline that the hurting can hold on to.

If you have ever had a person believe in you and share a hopeful attitude for your future, then you have experienced some of what 1 Corinthians 13:7 teaches. As long as there is love, there will be hope.”

If you had someone who believed in you, then it is your responsibility to pay it forward. If you did not, then it’s time to break the cycle.

In Christ,

Judy