Love Is Patient

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

The first fruit of the spirit that is listed in Galatians five is love. In our verse today Paul begins to describe love. First in a line of many descriptive phrases is this; Love is patient. When we love as Christ has loved, we will be patient.

You can usually tell whether a person is in love with another, or if they are just infatuated with them by whether they have patience with them. Love is first concerned with the other and therefore there is patient consideration of the others needs. Infatuation is based in satisfying the desire that the other produces in us; it is more about us than it is the other person.

The statement, “I can’t live without you and I want to be with you,” is flattering to us, but it is usually about needs and desires of an infatuated person and not about what is best for us.

This principle is not only true in romantic love, but it is also true in our faith walk. I have heard many people say something like, “I go to church on Sunday because I feel so much better for having gone.” Another statement I’ve heard many times is, “There is no high like the Most High.” That’s catchy, but what is it really saying? It seems to be saying, “I’m plugged into God for the high I get.”

I have noticed that people who have a relationship with God on the infatuation level find it difficult to be patient with him when they don’t feel better after having gone to church and when there is no “high” in their walk.

The Holy Spirit produces agape love in our hearts and the fruit of that love is patience with God and others. Infatuation with God produces an expectancy which demands that God serve me right now or I’ll do it my way. 

Prayer: Lord, I want to love you with pure agape love that is patient. Help me to serve you because it’s right and to patiently wait to hear your voice and to do your will. In Jesus name, amen.

Love Is Patient

Principle: When we love as Christ loved we will be patient.

Affirmation: I daily renew my relationship with God so that I might love as Christ loves and be patient with God and others.

Reflection: Ask yourself this question - If love is about pleasing, or blessing another, and infatuation is about satisfying my own desires, then do I really love God and others or am I infatuated with the idea of loving them?


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