Charity Suffereth Long and Is Kind, 1 Corinthians 13:4 Wall Art

Two hands, one sprig

The painting shows only arms and hands, reaching in from opposite sides of the page. From the upper left comes a hand wrapped in wide sleeves of cream, slate blue and rust, holding a slender sprig by its stem. From the lower right, a second pair of hands in a sage-green sleeve opens in a cupped shape to receive it.

The sprig has narrow gray-green leaves, like an olive shoot, and clusters of little white blossoms with gold centers. Nothing else is drawn: no faces, no setting, so the gesture carries the whole meaning. The verse sits above in brown script: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind”, followed by the reference, 1 Corinthians 13:4.

Why “charity” instead of “love”?

Most modern Bibles translate this line as “Love is patient, love is kind.” The King James translators chose “charity” because they were working from the Greek word agape, which the Latin Bible had rendered as caritas: love that gives itself for another's good, rather than affection or romance. In 1611 “charity” still carried that full sense; only later did it narrow toward donations.

“Suffereth long” means puts up with a great deal, slow to lose patience. The complete verse goes on: “charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up”. Paul wrote this to a church in Corinth that was proud of its spiritual gifts and quarrelsome about them. Chapter 13 is his answer: eloquence, knowledge and even faith count for nothing without this kind of love.

The passage closes with a line many couples know by heart: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Although Paul was writing about life in a congregation, not about marriage, it is hard to find a better description of what a marriage asks of two people day after day.

A wedding and anniversary present

1 Corinthians 13 is read at a great many weddings, and this print lets a couple keep their reading on the wall after the day is over. It is a thoughtful present from a maid of honor, a best man, parents or the officiating pastor, and it suits an anniversary just as well.

Because it shows hands rather than a couple, it fits any marriage and any home. Hang it in a bedroom, above a dining room buffet, or in an entry where guests come and go.