Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4
Perhaps you have read or heard 1 Corinthians 13 and admire its awesome description of love.
Usually, this chapter (or portions of it) is read during wedding ceremonies.
The definition of love begins with the phrase, “Love is patient…” and have you ever wondered why love begins with being patient?
It’s easy to recite or quote from the Scriptures, “Love is patient…” but you would probably agree with me that it’s hard to do this.
Realizing the value of patience in a relationship, I am more inclined to declare that love is all about being patient.
After experiencing and witnessing how patience works, I can testify that without patience, one can never be truly in love.
No wonder the Apostle Paul placed patience as the primary qualification or let me say the first departing point of true love. Learning to be patient means conquering all other aspects of love.
When does love become patient?
Some would say, “I have love, but it’s not patient yet” or “I am still nurturing my love to become patient.”
Well, we can’t avoid such statements because we are always in the process of becoming.
Who in this human world could say that he or she was born with love that is patient?
Our only sure claim is that biologically, we were all products of patience (or impatience? 🙂 ) considering the birth process and the loving that we received as we grow. It takes time for love to grow in our hearts.
We might not have received much love from our parents and families, but our faith in God’s love is enough to enable us to shine His love through.
If it takes patience to be truly in love, then have you ever asked when does love become patient?
Let me cite some instances when love became patient through my personal experience and observation.
When a mother loves unconditionally her child
I believe that a mother’s love is the most unconditional love that one can receive. From conception, gestation, birth, feeding, caring, even until maturity, the mother exhibits unconditional love.
My apologies to fathers out there for my bias but I see that fathers are often at their wit’s end when dealing with growing children. Let’s give credit to our mothers who bore and give birth to us all, a gift and strength that fathers cannot do.
A truly loving mother will never neglect her child, regardless of situations. She would always think about her child’s welfare, giving love and attention, even if others might have shown rejection.
When an older child accepts his younger sibling for who he is
Hey big brothers (or big sisters), are you familiar with the “why can’t you be like me” tendency”?
Yeah, and the tendency becomes clear when the younger sibling appears to be leading to wayward life. He or she is sidetracked, a bum, a failure. Worst, some families label a member as a “black sheep” because he or she isn’t like anybody else.
It takes maturity and faith in God’s unconditional love for us to accept our family member for who he or she is. When you have learned to accept your family member, you are always on a compassion mode.
When you are compassionate about helping your sibling, acknowledging that “you are your brother’s keeper”, God will give you the wisdom to deal with personality differences and circumstances.
TO BE CONTINUED…
PHOTO CREDIT:
Im blessed to have both patient father and a mother. Praise God for them 🙂
Our younger brother taught me the meaning of “love is patient”. When I finally learned, I was able to love unconditionally.