By Elaine Baldwin|@elainehbaldwin

Bear all things. I Corinthians 13:7

(Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (NASB)

The Greek word for bears is stegō (G4722). It is only used four times in the New Testament. It has three definitions. It means “deck, thatch, to cover: to protect or keep by covering, to preserve. It also means to “cover with silence, to keep secret, to hide, conceal the errors and faults of others.” And it means “by covering to keep off something which threatens, to bear up against, hold out against, and so endure, bear, forbear.”

To love like this is no small thing. This kind of love is a strong storm resistant structure that doesn’t collapse when the wind’s destructive force batters all around it.

I’ve been in many storms (life in tornado alley), some of them life threatening. If you have as well, you know your level of anxiety and chance at survival are directly linked to the confidence you have in your surroundings. Sitting underground in a storm shelter provides safety and peace of mind unknown to the person cowering in the corner of a trailer home. In fact, the experts tell us it is safer to be outside in a ditch than to remain in such a fragile structure.

I think this is a good picture of how we’re doing in loving one another. What kind of love structure do we provide for each other? Will it survive any storm or will it collapse with the slightest wind?

Our love structure should have impenetrable sides all around. The sides should Bear with protection and preservation. They should cover and hide a multitude of sins, faults and mistakes (I Peter 4:8). Our love walls should ward off anything that threatens the one anothers taking shelter in those walls.

Regrettably, many Christian one another structures cannot withstand any kind of struggle, storm or inconvenience. The love we show for one another waivers with circumstances and feelings. When times are tough we run. It is too hard to stay a Bear someone else’s burden.

In our twisted version of living like Christ we may even rebuff others attempts to Bear our burdens; to help us. Maybe it’s a fear of rejection if anyone finds out what we are really like or what we are really dealing with. Or maybe it’s pride that won’t allow us to accept help from others. Or maybe it’s a sense of hopelessness; that no one can help. In any of these scenarios we lose all the way around. We remain in our troubled state and we push others away.

Love Bears all things. Not just some. Not just the easy things. Not just the meaningful things. All things!

It’s basically moving it forward shoulder to shoulder with someone else.

How has someone helped you Bear something you couldn’t Bear alone?

How can we help each other?