Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Love Is Patient (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NASB)

For the next 14 days, we’re going to take a closer look at the descriptions of love from 1 Corinthians 13. These words are often read at engagement parties and weddings, and I don’t know about you, as I read these words, I’m somewhat—make that a lot—overwhelmed. How in the world can anyone be all that Paul described?

The only person I know who manifested every one of them was Jesus—is Jesus. So let’s look at how Jesus is love. And let’s think about how we can love just a little more like He does.

Love is patient.

Oh dear. Do we have to start here? Patience isn’t necessarily the fruit of the Spirit I manifest most often. But Jesus is indeed patient. And we can be as well when we remember that this life is temporary. What happens here is temporary. What we have is temporary. Eternity with Jesus should be our focus.

Think about it. Why are we impatient? Because we want something right now. We want that job. That relationship. That car. That house. Now. And when we don’t get it in our timing, according to our plan, we get a bit upset—to put it lightly.

And we can’t love—certainly not as Christ did—when we’re feeling impatient.

I think patience has a lot to do with trust. If I trust God, I can patiently wait on His timing, knowing He’ll work everything according to His plan (Rom. 8:28). If I trust you, patience comes relatively easy because I know you have my best interests at heart. I trust my husband, so I can be patient even if things aren’t moving as quickly as I like.

Be patiently loving today, just as Christ is. Those you love may be pleasantly surprised!

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