Love is Patient

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸Love never ends.

Love is Patient.

So what does it mean when it says that love is patient? The dictionary defines being patient as:

• waiting calmly for however long is needed
• to bear pains or trials calmly or without complaint
• manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
• not hasty or impetuous
• steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity
• able or willing to bear
• bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like
• characterized by or expressing such a quality: a patient smile
• quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, especially in detail or exactness: a patient worker

To have patience is

• the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
• an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner.
• quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.

When I read all these definitions what pops out to me is a quality of time. Patient folks are willing to take their time.... whether that means bearing a load, or helping someone, or dealing with something on their own. Patient people don't fear time. They simply take something and work with it regardless of how long it takes.

People often say that I am patient ... when I have a hard time seeing it in myself. I always feel inside like I'm rushed, wanting things done now, but when it comes to other people... there I'm willing to take my time for the most part I think. Start small....work your way up. I wonder why I am more patient with others than I am with myself?

So what does the bible say about patience?

Gal 5:22 tells us that patience is a fruit of the spirit

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

In Thessalonians we learn that we are to be patient with each other

¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (5:14)

In Hebrews 12:1 we see that patience is an active choice, it is something that we work with

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Psalm 37 encourages us to be patient and not to fret.

Patience is often linked to steadfastness, and this is a learned trait. We learn it from going through trials, we learn it through seeing it in others and how they respond, the prophets in the Old Testament had to be patient, Abraham had to be patient... we can learn from these folks.

If one takes a good look at what it means to be patient then you can see how it is of benefit. If you are patient you are less inclined to get bent out of shape over things. It keeps you at a more even keel because you see how things are OVER TIME.

The more I think about this the more I see the greatness of God. God is so everlastingly patient with us. He is HOLY. We are a sinful people. Holiness can't stand being around sin, and yet what does God do? He bears with us, he waits with us, he teaches and trains us, he works with us, and he LET HIS SON DIE for us so that we can be brought back to him.

See this folks, take a good hard look at it. God did this for us! He really takes the long view. He knows what we can be for him.

And then let us learn to be more like him.

I need to learn to be more like him. To take the long view and just relax into the knowing that in time....things will all be better. Jesus will return and all things will be made right. So the little "achs" of the day are not worth being stressed over. :)