Hi Again,
I hope everyone is doing well these days. Springtime (here lately) in the Northern Maryland area has seemed to be more like late February…. cold, windy and rainy. And whatever the weather may be like, we continue on with our routines and schedules anyway. We endure.
Guess what else endures? (You knew I’d go there, right?) 😉
1st Corinthians 13:7b
Love… endures all things.
Endurance is virtue. If you have endurance, you can complete a long distance run. If you have endurance, you can overcome obstacles that might block someone who does not have endurance.
Just now, (tangent alert) my mind thought of the word perseverance. Perseverance and endurance seem similar to me… Hmmm. Let’s look at Merriam-Webster:
Endurance-
the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially : the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity
Perseverance-
the action or condition or an instance of persevering (doh… lemme get that one too)
Persevere-
to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement
So endurance looks to me to be an ability, and perseverance is an action. Also endurance speaks to prolonged effort (doing something) and perseverance speaks to remaining despite opposition (holding fast). Maybe someone can do a word study on this…
In either case, I think the words come from the same idea of a determined willingness to accept suffering for a greater purpose. And who now comes to your mind? Is it not our Lord Jesus Christ?
Philippians 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This obedience to the point of death shows us Christ’s enduring love for God the Father and His sheep. His love was certainly a driving force…
Then think of all the misunderstanding, the rejection, the abandonment, the persecution, not to mention all the efforts of Satan against Him; and even Almighty God Himself pouring out judgment on Jesus when those three hours of darkness covered the land. Yet Christ still offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of His elect.
See how love endures all things?
Those whom Christ has called and redeemed and regenerated have a new nature within them. This very love that Christ demonstrates on the pages of scripture is also within His saints!
Romans 5:5b
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Is your love enduring?
**Comments/ questions/ testimonies/ objections most encouraged!
Dear Lord, thank you for this time to consider Your word and Your ways. May our thoughts, words, and deeds bring You glory… and glory to You alone. –Amen
Peace,
Jim
