Love is Patient: Part One
1 Corinthians 13:1
The Most Excellent Way (1 Corinthians 13:1)
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of
angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal.”
For
the next several weeks, I would like for us to focus on what the Bible says
about love.
I
will soon be starting a series on Marriage and the Family. With our study on
love, we will be building a foundation for our relationships so that we will be
able to handle any storm in our lives. Because of that, I want to spend as much
time as needed to delve into The Most Excellent Way.
According
to 1 Corinthians 13:1, without love, our works will be empty. Without love, we
will just be spinning our wheels; making noise.
We have to love others to
serve one another.
We have to love others to
care for one another.
We have to love others before
we can be used by God to complete His work as the Body of Christ. We must be
God’s Love.
God’s Love is a prerequisite
to serving. Ephesians 4:15-16:
Love is a Prerequisite to
Serving (Ephesians 4:15-16)
“Instead,
we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like
Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. He makes the whole body
fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the
other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of
love.”
In
everything we do, we must speak the truth in love. I know I don’t always do
that. Sometimes, I just tell someone they’re wrong and don’t even think about
how I say it, but God wants us to display His truth with His love.
Jesus didn’t rebuke us; He
redeemed us.
Jesus didn’t turn His back on
us; He instead came to earth to show True Love on the Cross of Calvary.
Jesus loved us so much He
came to die for us, even though we didn’t deserve His forgiveness.
He loved us so much; He
didn’t want us to die in our sins.
Jesus had every right to
rebuke us.
He had every right to turn
His back on us.
He had every right to say we
didn’t deserve His love.
In
all reality, He would’ve been right. We didn’t, nor do we still deserve His
love. I know I fail Him all the time. I am not perfect and because of my
selfishness, I don’t always do what is right. I don’t always treat those
closest to me with the love that Jesus has for me. I am unworthy of His love.
However,
thank God, His love is perfect. His love erased all of my sins; my past,
present, and the sins I will commit in the future. His love has taken away all
of my sins.
Every
attribute of love is God, Himself. He is True Love. In our study on The Most
Excellent Way, we will be studying the true nature of God. We will be focusing
on how to become more like Him. We will be learning how to be The Light of the
World.
What is Love (1 Corinthians
13:4-7)
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is our
passage for the next several weeks. God tells us that:
“Love
is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It
does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of
being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever
the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always
hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Love is Patient
Love
is Patient! I wish we didn’t have to discuss patience. You know, I thought I
was patient until I got married and had children. Wow! I was wrong.
Living
on your own, you don’t have to worry about anyone else. You do whatever you
want. You don’t have to focus on others, for there isn’t anyone else.
I
have found that having patience is very difficult because the only time we need
it is when something is not going the way we desire. However, God has made it
very clear that His children are supposed to be patient. We are not supposed to
allow our old nature to control us any longer.
God is Patience
So
what is patience? Before we can answer that, we must first look at Patience
Himself, for God is Patience. 2 Peter 3:9:
“The
Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is
being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants
everyone to repent.”
Many
believers in the early church were expecting Jesus to come back in their
lifetime. They were impatient about His coming. They wanted the struggles of
life to be over. They didn’t want to have to deal with persecution from the
Romans and the Jews any longer.
They
weren’t displaying patience because they were being selfish. They were only
thinking about themselves. They wanted their persecution to end. They didn’t
want to have to wait any longer to be with their Savior in Heaven.
I
can’t blame them. There are times I would love to say, “Hey, Jesus, now would
be a great time for You to come back. I am tired of all of the struggles of
life. I am tired of looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to
be with You now. I want to be with You in Heaven.”
However,
Peter reminded the believers of his time, and all of us today, that God is
displaying patience by not coming now. We may want Him to come now, but His
desire is for more people to come to know His saving grace.
He
is patiently waiting for more people to repent of their sins, because He
doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed in their sins. He wants His creation to
become His children. God is patiently waiting, because His thoughts are on us.
God’s
thoughts are on the redemption of mankind; my thoughts are on relief from this
earth. He desires that more people get saved; my desires are on my own
salvation, my own redemption.
God’s
love is selfless. Mine is selfish. I must stop thinking of myself, and begin
seeing others as more important than me.
Jesus
showed selflessness on the cross, for, “there is no greater love than to
lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Therefore,
I should stop focusing on myself, and reach out to those who don’t know His
saving grace. I must focus on the needs of others.
If
my impatience is keeping others from coming to our Savior, than I have become a
stumbling block, building a wall between those who are lost and the Cross of
Calvary.
I
already shared with you my testimony. Billy Rose shared God’s salvation with me
for a year. He was extremely patient, because I wasn’t always nice about it.
Billy put me first in his life. He could’ve easily blown me off, but, he wanted
me to come to Jesus. He patiently led me to the Cross of Calvary.
That’s
exactly how we are to live our lives. God is patiently waiting for more people
to come to the cross. We should be the ones leading the cause of His salvation
to the world instead of focusing only on ourselves.
We
must reach out to this darkened world, shining the Light of Jesus Christ as we
patiently await His return. We must love others more than we love
ourselves. We must live a life of love. We must live a life of patience.
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