Love Bears All Things, Endures All Things

1 Corinthians 13

This denotes much more than most people know; namely, that I bear and endure all things if I am filled with love or, in other words, if it has power in my heart and life.

How unspeakably far away most people are from this life, seeing that they barely endure some small trifle of evil words or bad treatment and feel insulted or become bitter or angry or something similar!!!

The acknowledgment that is then needed so there can be a radical change—even to be filled with divine love—is that there is a total lack of the love of Christ as an indwelling power—even if the person may have tasted it!

It is necessary for a person to experience a radical conversion from his egotism and from his horrid lukewarmness, slothfulness, and sluggishness.

When it is written that many waters or the largest bodies of water (for example, the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean) cannot quench this divinely fervent, true, genuine, unfeigned love that is as strong as death, this indicates with mathematical precision that the so-called love that can usually be quenched with half a cupful of offending words has nothing at all to do with the love of Christ!!!

Just as a coffee substitute is not coffee, so this common love substitute is not love!

In the eyes of fools, it can seem to be love on good days, but on the day of adversity it is clearly revealed as being just a surrogate, a substitute!

All the unrighteousness and evil of the world are unable to quench the love that the bride of Christ has for her Bridegroom!!!

On the contrary, it burns even more fervently! It becomes even greater! Therefore, if this is not so in your life, dear friend, then repent from your lukewarmness to a boiling hot love for Him who has loved you first!!!

Whatever you do or do not do, do this in any case. This is the prayer of your enduring friend and brother

Elias Aslaksen