I like to look at this aspect of love as the insurance against divorce. Hope is a word that looks to the future. The second coming of Jesus Christ is called our "hope." It is what we rest in. The future is very bright. In love, hope is positive, is optimistic, it won't "throw in the towel." How does love practice this hope? It forgives and continues forgiving; it holds great expectations for the future; it seeks to do what it can to make things better. Have you ever heard someone complain about their spouse, their marriage, their children and immediately you see how they could have eased the situation? It is easy to see how others can encourage love, but harder to see in our own lives. It is easy to get short-sighted in the midst of trials, or difficult days, or mood swings, but love looks beyond today and the offenses of it ... it just keeps loving.
Of course, hope in man will cause disappointment at times. Our true hope needs to be in the LORD. It is He that can give us true love as described in I Corinthians 13 and can give us the grace to press on!
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