Love Is Patient

Alba 10-5-2025

LOVE IS PATIENT

I Corinthians 13:4

Don't you wish the world was a perfect place? I mean in a perfect world…

• Chocolate would have no calories.

• Procrastination would be honored as a virtue.

• Teenagers would rather clean their rooms than be on their phones.

• Politicians would pay us taxes.

• Children on long road trips would say, "Isn't riding in the car fun?" and then they'd go to sleep.

• Candy would be considered a vegetable.

• No one would cut you off in traffic.

• Your team would always win.

• Snow would fall on the ground and not the roads.

• You’d never loose your keys, wallet, checkbook or debit card…

But unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. That's why every day you and I are going to face things that are going to test our patience. Every day our patience is put to the test in some way. Who here enjoys waiting? Did you know they say you will spend 6 months of your life sitting at red lights waiting for them to turn green? How patient are you?

Someone said you can learn a lot about people by watching how they wait for an elevator. Some people are swayers; they kind of sway back and forth. Some are pacers and shufflers. Others are pushers, they keep pushing the button. Someone else said, “I had my patience tested yesterday. It came back negative.” Too often our prayer is, “Dear God, give me patience. And give it to me quick!”

First Corinthians chapter thirteen begins by telling us that nothing is more important than love. It says what we say, what we know, what we give, what we sacrifice, what we accomplish, and even our faith, does not matter without love. Without love it gains us nothing. Then in verse four, the first thing that Paul tells the church at Corinth about love is: “Love is patient.” That raises the question, what is patience? Do we really understand what it is?

Lets look at the word itself. The Greek word “patient” used here is a compound word. The first part of the word is makro, meaning long or slow. The second part of the word is thumos or thymia, meaning heat, energy, anger, or wrath. Patience literally means “to have a high boiling point,” or “to take a long time to boil”. We talk about somebody having a short fuse; this means they have a long fuse. Actually, the King James Version comes the closest to the literal translation with the term “suffereth long” or “long-suffering.”

We don't like to suffer, but the love this is talking about is willing to suffer for the object of its love. It is willing to endure that which it very much does not want to experience. But it does so, because of love.

But we may raise our hands and ask, “How long do we have to suffer?” This says, “I can't tell you that. It may be a year. It may be 10 years. It may be only tomorrow. But love “suffers long.” Well, we like deadlines. And we would like to know just exactly how long we are going to have to suffer. This doesn't tell us. It simply says that patient love suffers long. It basically means that love is something that endures a long time, that doesn't easily give up, but keeps on persisting in spite of everything. That is love, that is patience.

When one is patient, he or she is able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time, or when dealing with problems or difficult people. It means doing things in a careful way over a long period of time without hurrying. It means bearing pains and trials calmly without complaint. It is a big order, but that is what it means.

So when it comes to love being patient, and realizing that we should be patient and long-suffering with others, the question becomes not so much what it is, but how do we do it? Well first of all, you do not have to pray for patience. You are just asking for trouble if you do. Patience and longsuffering are only needed when you are in a difficult situation. But if you live long enough, patience will be one of your great lessons. And be careful, because when you are in a hurry, impatience can lead to saying and doing things that are regretted, things that can harm relationships. Being constantly hurried and impatient is not helpful for one’s spiritual health.

I Thessalonians 5:14 tells us to be patient “with everyone”. I am sure some of you are thinking, “That is impossible. I can’t do it. How can I be patient with everybody?” To be patient with everyone does seem impossible. That poem says: “To dwell above with those we love, oh that will be glory. To dwell below with those we know, now that's a different story.”