Love Always Trusts

1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV - "It [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Keep Reading...

Trust is a precious gift that we can give to one another. When we choose to depend on someone, open up our vulnerable selves to another, we give that person our trust. This gift of trust is fragile and can easily be damaged. But, it is an essential element to any relationship. Choosing to put yourself in a position of dependence on another person communicates great value to that person. Giving trust means that you believe in that person. You are placing your life in their hands.

As children, we naturally trust the big people around us. We expect that we will be fed, clothed and cared for. Even in very dysfunctional situations, children keep persevering with giving their trust. But, this doesn't last for long. We experience broken promises, anger and neglect. We realize that trust is something to be guarded. As experiences of rejection pile up, we learn not only to guard our trust but to withhold our trust from most people. Self-protection becomes our highest value, rather than God's value of giving trust.

1 Corinthians 13:7 says that "God always trusts…." It is quite amazing to think that God knows everything, feels the pain of sin in the world and still trusts. He trusts His church with the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:19). He trusts us to exercise His authority on earth (Matt. 28:18-20). This trust means that God believes in us. The fact that God trusts us is the foundation for our trust in others. God gives wisdom in how to give our trust away. This is not always a straight-forward process. But, we can take the risk of depending on others, because God takes the risk of depending on us.