The Art of Loving: Love Endures (1 Cor. 13:7)

The Art of Loving: Willingness to Persevere
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

INTRODUCTION:
Robert Orben said, “If you’re ever tempted to give up, just think of Brahms who took seven long years to compose his famous lullaby. Keep falling asleep at the piano.”

The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 15:5 that God is a God of “perseverance.” Since God is “love” (1 John 4:8), then “Love perseveres.” That’s what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:7: “love endures all things.” This verb “to endure” is used 17 times in the NT and it connotes the idea of carrying a load, bearing up under a burden that is difficult to bear. In Romans 12:12, Paul encourages Christians to “persevere in tribulation.” So “love perseveres in tribulation.

Jesus “endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2) so the Hebrew writer challenges Christians to “endure” so that we will not grow weary and lose heart (12:3).

Elbert Hubbard wrote this:

“The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it; so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success. As the tide goes clear out, so it comes clear in.
“Sometimes, prospects may seem darkest when really they are on the turn. A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.”

One man drifted in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina for 54 hours. The man gave up and jumped from his life raft to his death. It was only an hour later when the Coast Guard spotted the raft and sent a rescue ship. Had that man only known how close he was to being rescued!

As we study the qualities of love that Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and learn better the “art of loving,” we want to emphasize in this study that love endures and love persists.

It is often - very often - far too early to quit. We need to fight one more round, keep on keeping on. We might stumble, we might fall, but let’s pick ourselves back up and keep going. Richard Hooker spent 17 years writing a funny story about the Korean War. After all that time and effort, he sent the book to 21 diferent publishers and received 21 rejection letters. But, he sent the letter to one more publisher.

William Morrow published Richard Hooker’s book M*A*S*H.

GOD - THE GOD OF PERSEVERANCE:
Let us illustrate the nature of God from the book of Exodus…

God persevered with Moses in his excuses:
Moses said: “They will not believe me” (4:1) so God showed him three miraculous signs.
Then Moses said, “I have never been eloquent” (4:10) so God reminded Moses that God is the creator.
Then Moses said, “Send someone else” (4:13) so God gave him Aaron to help him.

When Moses finally appeared before Pharaoh, Pharaoh turned him down and made the slavery on Israel even harder, so the people turned against Moses (5:20-21) and Moses “turned against” God (5:22-23). Moses said, “God, you haven’t fulfilled your promise!”

But God perseveres because God loves.

In chapter 6, God told Moses, “Leading Israel out of Egypt is going to be hard. But I will be with you.”

That’s when God started hitting Egypt with the ten plagues and in several of those plagues, God made a distinction between Egypt and Israel in order to strength Israel’s faith.

Yet, after the tenth plague, as Israel was standing at the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army behind them, Israel complained: 14:10-12. Moses told Israel to be silent - to be patient - and wait for God to work. Which He did.

Israel came across the Red Sea on dry land - ended up at Marah with no potable water. So they grumbled against Moses (15:24). But God persevered with them and made the water drinkable. Then God led them to an oasis with a dozen springs of water.

Israel then grumbled against God in the wilderness of Sin because they did not have any meat to eat (16:3). God persevered and gave them meat. Eight times the word “grumbling” is used in chapter 16 but God persevered. He also gave them manna.

In chapter 17, Israel grumbled against Moses again because they were at Rephidim and did not have any water to drink. But God persevered and gave them water.

God led Israel to Mount Sinai and gave Israel the Ten Commandments and several other laws and Israel agreed to be faithful to God twice in 24:3, 7 but then - and this is the major example of Israel’s sin in Exodus - in chapter 32, they built a golden calf and worshipped it. They violated the very covenant they had agreed to keep. God told Moses that He could just start over and wipe out the family of Abraham and start with a “family of Moses.” But Moses persisted and asked God to persist with Israel. Which God did.

Why? Because God is a God of perseverance. God gave them the covenant a second time and when they repented of their sins and built the tabernacle as God had commanded. He sent His glory into that tabernacle so they would know that God’s presence was with them as they prepared to leave Mount Sinai and move toward the Promised Land (40:34-38). God is a God of perseverance. Why? Because God is a God of love.

GOD CALLS ON US TO PERSEVERE:
Listen to the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8 - “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Think about what Paul had to endure. Enemies plotted to kill him in: Damascus, Ephesus, Corinth, and Jerusalem. They drove him out of Antioch and Berea and tried to stone him in Iconium. They did stone him in Lystra, leaving him for dead. In Philippi, they beat him with rods and put him into stocks. They tried to mob him in Thessalonica.

Paul was shipwrecked, hungry, bitten by a venomous snake, and imprisoned for years without a fair trial. Finally, he was beheaded for preaching about the love of Jesus. And he gained his final victory!

Listen to Paul’s words: “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10). In that same letter, he wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

We remember Paul because of his loving persistence. We do not know the names of his enemies. Most of them have been forgotten to time.

Calvin Coolidge said it this way:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Impatient people start things. Patience people finish things. No matter what field of work you enter - what line of work, marriage, ministry - persistence is the key to success.

MORE BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:
King Saul - began well but did not persist in his faithfulness to God.
Judas - began well but did not persist in his faithfulness to Jesus.
King Solomon - began well but did not persist in his faithfulness to God.
The whole nation of Israel - began well but did not persist in her faithfulness to God.

Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). On more than one occasion, Jesus said, “it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved” (Matt. 10:22).

On the other hand, think of these individuals:

Noah waited 120 years before God fulfilled His promise to make it rain.
Abraham waited 100 years before God fulfilled His promise to give Sarah a son.
Joseph served for 13-14 years falsely imprisoned before he became prime minister of Egypt.
Moses waited 80 years before he was able to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt.

God’s timetable does not match ours. He knows more and He knows better. And we cannot predict when He will bring things together for our good in a way that we can recognize. That’s why we have to love Him and love life. That love will keep us patiently persisting.

PERSISTENCE IN WHAT?
What are your goals in life? What are you working toward? What do you love? Is it making your relationship with your spouse better and stronger? Is it making your relationship with your children or your parents better? Is it making your relationship with God stronger? What are your goals?

Don’t you know people laughed at Noah? Don’t you know people laughed at David? We know they laughed at Jesus in Matthew 9:24. They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at the man who designed the Golden Gate bridge.

Michael Jordan once stated that he missed 9,000 shots and he lost 300 games. There were 26 times he was trusted to make the winning shot - and he missed! Kobe Bryant actually holds the record for missed shots in the NBA - 14,481! But they’re known for what they accomplished, not for their failures - because they persevered!

We learn, we make adjustments, eventually our persistence pays off in our relationships, our business, whatever it is we’re trying to accomplish. Thomas Edison once described his success this way: “I start where the last man left off. He didn’t stay long enough.”

HOW CAN YOU PERSIST:
Even if you have big dreams, focus on the small things. Your goals should be reachable and measurable.

Know the reason behind your goals and remind yourself why you do what you do.

You may need to rest, but don’t quit.

If you run into a barrier, consider the solutions. You don’t have to beat your head against a brick wall if you can go around the wall!

Don’t be afraid to start over.

Take home message: Love endures and perseveres. Ask God to help you persist in doing what is right. It’s what you desire from others, right?

Start an evangelism conversation: “What are 2 or 3 major truths upon which you have based your decision-making?”