Love Endures All Things

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV)

The first fruit of the spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). Love is so essential that without it we may mature into unemotional, hard and callous beings. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). Jesus endured being bruised, beaten, battered and humiliated. On the Cross, full of love and compassion, he cried out “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Joseph’s brothers did not know what they did. Joseph endured the humiliation and anguish in their selling him off to itinerant traders (Genesis 37:28). In Egypt to escape the advances of Potiphar’s wife, he endured a thirteen-year prison sentence (Genesis 39: 14-20). Because God favored Joseph his interpretation of dreams brought him to Pharaoh’s court as Prime Minister. The gift of visions with which God endowed him permitted him to prevent the seven-year famine that would have swept over Egypt (Genesis 41: 14-41).

The famine brought Joseph’s family to Egypt and Joseph wept loudly on recognizing them. The brothers “were dismayed in his presence” (Genesis 45:2), but he calmed their fear of reprisal telling them that God meant their actions for good. God had a better plan for Joseph than his brothers’ wicked scheme. We can trust God because He knows His purpose for us. Whatever storms and stresses you endure, take heart, knowing that God is love and has a better plan for you. —Phyllis M Inniss