Love always…Perseveres: The Relentless Endurance of Agapē
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.[1]
“πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει.”
“In every respect protect, in every respect trust, in every respect hope, and in every respect preserver.”[1]
Paul, in a breathtaking sequence, sketches love as something that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and here is our focus perseveres through all things. The Greek phrase, πάντα ὑπομένει (panta hypomenei), is as rich as it is relentless.
The verb ὑπομένει (hypomenei) is a compound word: hypo (under) and menō (to remain, abide, dwell). Love, Paul says, is the kind that remains under, underweight, under pressure, under suffering, under disappointment. Love does not simply wait, it abides, it does not escape, it stands, it does not merely survive, it remains rooted when others flee.
We often think of perseverance as an act of grim determination, a clenched jaw, a furrowed brow, the gritted teeth of endurance. But Paul’s vision of persevering love is softer and deeper than sheer stoicism. Ὑπομένει – hypomonē’ is not the endurance of a soldier who refuses to retreat, but of a lover who refuses to abandon. It is not merely duty, it is devotion.
Think of Christ on the cross. He hung there not because He lacked the power to come down, but because love refused to step away. That is hypomonē in its purest form, remaining under the suffering that love requires.
This is the love that stays with the prodigal’s father as he waits by the road, day after day, unmoved by disgrace or community shame. It is the love of a mother who refuses to give up on a wayward child. It is the love of God who remains under the weight of human betrayal and still whispers, “I am with you always.”
In the world’s eyes, persevering love can look like foolishness. Why remain under? Why keep loving when the cost is rejection, disappointment, or betrayal? The world says, “Protect yourself. Walk away. Preserve your dignity.” But agapē, God’s love, does not calculate self-preservation. It persists because the Beloved is worth the weight.
Paul uses the same word, hypomenō, elsewhere:
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance (hypomonē).” (Romans 5:3)
“You need perseverance (hypomonē), so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what He has promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)
Perseverance is not simply enduring pain; it is enduring for the sake of hope. And here, in 1 Corinthians 13, love itself is that hope. Paul’s words confront us. Do we love like this?
Most of us, if honest, love only until it becomes uncomfortable, only as long as our love is reciprocated, only until we feel justified in letting go.
But agapē invites us to remain open, even when love is not returned.
Think on these things…
Shalom – Shalom,
Jim Varsos
[1] 1 Corinthians 13:7