Real Love “Bears All Things.”
The word bears comes form a Greek word that means “roof.” The picture is great in its simplicity. Love covers and protects like a roof covers a house and protects it from storms. Love continues to work for the good of others regardless of the circumstances. Love bears the storms of disappointment, the rains of failure, and the winds of time and circumstance. Love shields from the extremes of cold winters and hot summers. Love provides a place of shelter that can withstand the worst situations imaginable.
Love does not insulate others from the harsh realities of living in a broken world. Neither can it protect others from the consequences of their own choices. But love does give broken, hurting people a place to find someone who cares for their well-being. Love gives even unrepentant people an advocate and an intercession who prays fore their ultimate well-being. Love offers the worst sinners a place to bring their repentant hearts.
“Bearing all things” does not mean that love passively accepts sin in the way that a doormat takes the feet of its users. It means that love never stops caring and never stops offering a place of forgiveness. Love doesn’t get to the point where it begins hating, despising, or condemning another. Love cares enough to keep praying, to patiently endure the sins of others, to confront when necessary, and to forgive.
This is where the image of a roof is limited. Such unconditional love is not a passive protector, but a dynamic love that responds in ways appropriate to the choices of the other person. While love’s character never changes, its strategies and tactics constantly adapt to seek the well-being of the other person “in all things.”

Real Love “Believes All Things.”
At first glance, this next characteristic of love might leave the impression that those who care about others must become gullible or naive. That was not Paul’s point. Neither was he saying that love always gives others the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes a loving friend must be disbelieving in order to get to the heart of the matter.
Here Paul celebrates the foundational relationship between faith and love. 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that real love is fueled by our faith in God. Real love grows and is sustained by faith as we believe “all things” God tells us about Himself, about ourselves, and about one another. If we doubt what God says about His love for us, we will lose a strong motivation for loving one another. If we doubt God’s assurance that He is patient and kind to us, we will not show patience and kindness with each other. If we doubt that God is able to provide for our needs, we will not be inclined toward generosity.
The truth that “love believes all things” is central to our understanding of Christ-like love. Real love is rooted and grounded in faith. Faith, in turn, is rooted and grounded in what God has said in His Word. Unless we continue to “believe all things” God has said, our love will not survive the disappointments, rejections, and insults of life. Unless we b yield our love firmly on the Word of god, love will throw in the towel. Only by faith in God can love remain strong.
We will look at the last 2 descriptions of real love tomorrow.