Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. -1Corinthians 13:4 NIV
For some time I have understood that patience is the cornerstone of wisdom. The word is sometimes translated as long suffering. I can relate to that. Sometimes we suffer as we patiently endure physical and emotion pain. Delaying a decision can seem indecisive when it is really most decisive. Hindsight often validates our decision to be patient.
In this verse the apostle seems to be saying that love is first of all patient. In that sense patience could be considered the cornerstone of both wisdom and love. Yet love is what fuels and motivates us to be patient. As God himself is patient with us, so we are with those whom we encounter as we manifest this aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Lord help us to be loving and wise. Help us to be patient.
... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on words in the bible.
Reading what you wrote made me think patience from a different perspective. Love is patience and patience is long suffering. And in my suffering I need to be patience and I'm patience because I love God. Never thought of it that way. What do you think? I've struggled with patience in my suffering and I have always asked and prayed for instant relief. And yet I need to suffer because I love God, because he loves me and is discipling me.
ReplyDeletePerhaps all of life is an exercise in discipline Pearlie? For sure, discipline requires much patience. ツ
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