Paul: Love … All Things

I’ve been reflecting lately on the Apostle Paul’s “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, particular on verse 7.  Love, Paul says, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (NASB).  What is the force of the term “all things” in this powerful statement?  In Paul’s original Greek, the phrasing is beautifully poetic:  πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει (panta stegei, panta pisteauei, panta elpizei, panta hypomenei).  Notice the alliteration in the repetitive use of “panta” (all things) and the rhyme of the active verb endings (ei).  I can imagine Paul dictating this phrase to his amaneunsis, getting more excited as he repeats each panta.  Try reciting it out loud:  agapē panta stegei, panta pisteauei, panta elpizei, panta hypomenei.  Let it sink deep into your soul:  there is nothing to which love fails to respond with patience, faith, hope, and endurance.  Nothing.  All things — panta, panta, panta — love regards with patience, faith, hope, and endurance.  Panta, panta, panta agapē .