Tag Archives: Love is patient

And what remains is love

Leave a reply

“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

No doubt, we are all familiar with the great “love chapter” that Paul wrote to encourage us so we would always focus on what matters. It’s not speaking in some exotic tongue, nor prophecy that amazes, nor in great knowledge. Not even in faith that moves mountains, if it is not expressed in love. Not in giving generously to the poor or submitting our bodies to all sorts of hardship. We could have all these things and still, if we have not love, have nothing at all. Without love we are rich only in the poverty of our souls.

But love…that makes the difference!

Love, true love, is ever patient and keeps on waiting. It leads me to examine my heart today and what is my intention for expressing true,  patient love. Pure love is not accidental. It is purposefully kind, not harsh. It actively resists envy or boasting or becoming proud.  This love we seek to have and to share intentionally looks and plans and acts to lift others up, not to put others down,or ridicule or mock them.  Love honors others with great value not belittling or ignoring them. Such great love looks toward the best interests of others, not our own. It keeps us calm, not given to sudden bursts of anger. It forgives and forgets, not remembering where “the hatchet was buried.” This is the love I want to mark my life,rejoicing in truth and abhoring evil.  It is with such love that I protect those close to my heart, by trusting, hoping, and always persevering.

Great love doesn’t fail because it never ever gives up. Oh yes, though we try to deny it, everything else fails and come to an end: prophecy, fancy speech, astounding knowledge – it all comes to an end. These are pieces of our lives but not the whole, and not even close to the most important and lasting part of who we are.  When we stop thinking as children we see more clearly the real life we were meant to live – a life marked by great love.

I wonder if when we come finally to heaven if we won’t need faith because we will be at last truly united with the object of our faith, Jesus. And perhaps our hope will likewise have been fulfilled because what we have so long hoped for has been provided, being one with our Lord. Even so, the one thing that always will remain, that “greatest of these” that will last forever from earth to heaven and all time beyond, is love.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1 John 4:7-12

Love is how we are made complete. Who is it that needs your love today?

Love God. Love others in his name.

 

The Christmas gift of eternal love

Leave a reply

 

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ The Lord!” Luke 2:11

 

 

Our most urgent prayers have been answered, our waiting has been fulfilled. A Son has been born and He will rule forever as our mighty God, our wonderful counselor, our prince of peace. We hope you enjoy unwrapping the most precious gift of Christmas, the gift of Jesus who was given “unto you.”

 

Did you know that the most known bible verse is all about Christmas? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

 

The Christmas story is the fulfillment of that promise, God sending us a Savior. It is the mark of His love for us. I hope you’ve responded to that love by accepting His gift and setting Him on the throne of your life.

 

We’ve made Christmas about giving presents. But the best Christmas gift is sharing the presence of God in your life. And we do this by letting our lives be marked by His unending love, especially at Christmas and always:

 

Love is patient. Don’t let the hustle and bustle of Christmas ruin your celebration. Practice patience. Don’t give in to judging others or get upset by trivial things. Let your love be patient.

 

Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Be happy for others and be happy with what you have. Whatever your lot in life, chances are many others would be glad to exchange their troubles for yours. Everyone is fighting a hard battle. Let your love be kind.

 

Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. An important lesson in life is learning “It is not all about me.” The best way of seeing others is through God’s eyes. Let your love known as a peacemaker who values others.

 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The job of truth is to protect our trust and our hope. Truth pushes us to persevere to reach the prize. Let your love be truthful, honest, hopeful, and persevering, a beacon to others.

 

Love never fails. We fail but God’s love is enduring. Don’t give up when you goof up. Let His perfect love speak consistently through you.

 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Let God’s unending love be the best present you give to yourself and others this Christmas!

 

A very blessed Christmas to all our readers.

 

 

The everlasting Christmas gift of hope

Leave a reply

 

 

Everlasting Father

Everlasting. Eternal. Never changing. Forever the same.

 

Just as you and I like to take snapshots of our children when they are born, so the birth of baby Jesus is a snapshot in his life. But what is different about Jesus is that he has always existed. He was with God the Father when the worlds were created (and before). He lived on earth fully God and yet fully man. He lives forever, sitting at the right hand of His Heavenly Father, forever, for everlasting. This is the Jesus we worship at Christmas.

 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8  God’s love endures forever.

 

The everlasting nature of Jesus conveys stability, confidence, trust. Life brings turmoil and trouble. It shakes us. We are tempted to worry and despair. But our foundation and our refuge and strength is everlasting. God doesn’t change. When something is everlasting we can depend on it, trust it. We don’t have any frame of reference for this on earth. I think of mountains as being everlasting, but even they are sometimes shaken and moved. Only the Everlasting Father is unchanging. In him we can safely and securely place our hope.

 

We may hope for safe travels to a reunion. We may hope for a nice time with family and friends. We may hope for a nice present. We may hope for peace on earth.  But the children of the one true everlasting God, those who trust in his son, have “the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” (Titus 1:2) It is the Christmas gift of everlasting hope that is found at the feet of Jesus.

 

May Christmas fill you with such everlasting hope.

 

 

Cheating ourselves – cheating others

Leave a reply

What really happens when we believe lies? We allow ourselves to temporarily ‘forget’ the truth we know. We suspend the reality of truth in order to believe a make-believe lie. In the end, we betray and cheat ourselves and others, even God.

I don’t think most of us purposely betray ourselves or those we love. Do you think anyone would so brashly cuddle the love of their life while holding hands with another lover? After all, the nature of love is to be patient, kind, self-less, humble, serving, honoring of others. It is not easily angered and rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

But what happens when we suspend or forget love? We say we love this person, but our love for self-indulgence, our hobbies, “my time”, work, or good works says, “I love this more.”

God points this out repeatedly. Throughout history He commands us to have no idols. He hates idolatry, in fact so much so that He often equates it with adultery. He compares putting other things before Him to sleeping with a harlot. He says, “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8) We may justify ourselves by claiming we have no idols, no little statues that we bow down to. Yet we are quick to share Him with so much else.

We are called to be Holy as He is Holy, but if we are honest with ourselves, don’t we believe lies that our love of the world will satisfy us more than God Himself? I don’t think we often consciously choose to disobey and betray God. It seems when we are too comfortable, we live in a state of semi-slumber, half awake but also half asleep. God says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1

Just like someone who nudges you during a lecture or sermon to get you to wake up, let’s invite the Holy Spirit to nudge us throughout the day if we are found falling asleep. Let us wake up and remember our true love.

Patience

2 Replies

Patience.

Do you sometimes feel it is like a bad tasting medicine…good for you but you don’t want to taste it?  And you certainly don’t want to WAIT for it?!

Trials have the capacity to produce patience. That’s why some folks have told me, “I NEVER ask for patience, because I don’t want the suffering that goes with it.”

But do we really need to wait for some calamity to come upon us in order to learn patience? Steven Covey once said the one thing that separates us from the rest of the animals is our ability to create a space between stimulus and response. That space is called patience. For example, someone says something unkind to you. You have a choice: you can react or you can wait a moment and act with patience. What does a moment cost you? People who react think they need to change someone else’s bad behavior. (Ever notice how it is difficult to give someone a piece of your mind and also have peace in that same moment?) People who wait and act with patience have learned the secret:

Patience is not a dreaded virtue that has to follow unbearable suffering. Patience is an everyday choice to be good to yourself and to the world around you. 

Love is Patient. It waits. It creates a space where it might grow in unlikely places, like flowers that seem to grow out of rocks. It invites kindness and goodness to come stay awhile, even if only in your own heart.  

The good news is that just about every part of the day is an opportunity to use this gift: in the checkout lane, behind a slow driver, when the child spills their milk AGAIN, when the phone rings during a quiet time, when you make a mistake, when the toast burns.

Got patience? Try it. You’ll like the taste of it!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4

We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;  in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;  in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love.  2 Corinthians 6:3-6