1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Finally….. We are talking about what Love IS! The past 3 days has been focused more on what love is NOT, and I’m excited to learn more about what Love is.
Patient and Kind! Two very powerful words. I’d like to be considered patient and kind, but I wonder what the ‘cost’ is to attain those qualities?
Patience defined:
- The state of endurance under difficult circumstances
- Persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way
- Exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties.
- Is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. (Source)
The thing that stands out to me about patience is that you actually exemplify it/utilize it, when you are facing difficult circumstances. So in order to BE patient, you’ve got to be ‘going through’ some tough stuff that actually requires patience….. humm if I’m honest that is a bit of a challenging pill to swallow, because if I’m asking God to help me to grow in patience, then I am partly asking God for ‘difficult circumstances’ in which I can ‘exemplify’ or grow my patience. (SIGH), so to LOVE means to ‘go through’ difficulty… and be steadfast/persevere (after reading this the saying: ‘testing’ my patience has so much more meaning to me)
Kindness defined:
- Marked by goodness
- Charitable behaviour
- Mild disposition
- Pleasantness
- Tenderness
- Concern for others
- Is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions (Source)
When I think of this definition I am visualizing a very ‘sweet’ person. I mean the ‘real’ deal, not just the ‘fake’ smile or mask people wear at times to come off as being nice/kind. The thing that sticks out to me in this definition is having ‘concern for others’ a real genuine concern, which I believe is easy to do when its someone you care about, but THIS verse is indicating that to LOVE you must be kind (generally speaking), which to me sounds like a quality you must show to any AND everyone. (SIGH… yes… more challenge)
Love is sounding like a very SERIOUS thing at this point. Funny how ‘feelings’ isn’t talked about in this verse. This definition of what love is refers primarily to actions/choices that we can take/make towards other people; HARD choices/actions, but choices/actions none the less.
So then we go back to what love is NOT
- Does NOT envy
- Does NOT boast
- Is NOT proud
Love is not about wanting what is not yours, isn’t about ‘boadcasting’ and showing off what IS yours, and it’s not about getting too caught up in what you’ve got!!!!
Hummmmmm Reading this really does make you sit back and question ‘motives’. This verse causes me to walk away recognizing that love IS about self sacrifice (in spite of) and is NOT about doing ‘selfish’ ‘self-fulfilling’ things.
Love is a serious thing!!!!