"Love is patient; love is kind"- 1 Corinthians 13:4

I have been guilty of being inpatient and unkind. Even to those people in my life who I love very deeply. In fact, just the other day, I was driving my fiance' up from Texas to Denver to start our life together in the same state for the first time. But, even with all of the excitement, the 16 hour drive can take a toll on a person's ability to be compassionate. I can remember being very impatient with the drivers on the road, a stop light, a little animal darting across the road, and even the love of my life sitting next to me resting peacefully. I really believe that a good, long, and arduous roadtrip can bring out some frustrations in life. But, in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (everybody has heard these set of verses), love is laid out in an amazing array of facts. Some of which may scare you if you profess to be "in love." I have heard many ways of looking at these verses, but I think one of the most logical ways to look at these statements of love, is to apply the word "God" in place of "love." All in all, God is love, it is His very nature. Now, God is not faith, or hope, or anything that can be attributed to our relationship with Him, but He is clearly, and always has been Love. Now we can look at the fist two facts about God this way, "God is patient; God is kind."

I know, for myself, the very fact that God has been patient and kind in my own life is enough to build my faith on. But, it is important to know why He is patient and kind. It is even more important to fearfully see that our Father does not NEED to be patient or kind. I know that may be a bit weird to process, but our Lord God does not need our affection, or praise, or to be kind to us, or to regard us as children...but He thankfully and lovingly does and wants to. So in a perfect and will-driven way, the Lord is patient and kind.

Kindness:

Why is He so? Because His Word says He is. And by Word I mean, the spoken Word of God, and the written Word. His kindness is very evident in what He says to us through the Holy Spirit. I don't know if you have experienced this about God, but he does speak to us through the Holy Spirit. I know there are many explanations and descriptions of how it sounds, or when it is, but one thing is for certain, "He is there and He is not silent." And in these moments sweetness can be heard. Encouragement from a loving Father. And there can also be discipline and correction. But the motive is always the same from the Lord, His kindness to an unsuspecting child of His. Now in the written word, we see that what has been pinned by men, through guidance of the Holy Spirit, is much more important than our own personal eyewitness. For through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Bible we see that we have a Savior...the ultimate kindness of God, Jesus Christ. And this kindness can not be passed, because no matter what we face or produce, nothing can be said or above the fact the God was so kind as to send us a way out from death...which is only through Jesus. Jesus Christ is the ultimate gift of kindness to us from the Father, and the Holy Spirit; a down payment from Christ for His return. So we see that God is full of kindness, the "true kindness," out of a divine motivation. Our kindness, however, can be convoluted with hidden agendas. Believe me, I could write the book on ulterior motives. But, when the Holy Spirit is allowed to guide us a bit, we begin to receive that fruit "kindness." And it is a fruit, it is not something to be thought into our character, or generated by our own self-will, it is a gift from the Spirit. This is not some gift that we put on at social functions, "Oh, here comes the pastor, better put on my kindness until he passes!" No, it is an inheritance by the work of Christ for His good pleasure...and it appears at the most uncommon moments. Like in the car, or during frustrations, or even when we are running late and a stranger stops us to talk. So kindness, because our creator is kind through His unfailing love, is found in the moments that He desires it, not us. And it is either there or it isn't. So the question I most ask myself is, am I capable of being kind to this person because my creator is, or am I lacking something from the Holy Spirit?

"For His merciful kindness is great toward us...praise the Lord!" Psalm 117:2

"What is desired in man is kindness." Proverbs 19:22

"...in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:7

Patience:

God's very patience is evident in creation. God created for six days and then rested, not because He was tired, but because He see's patience and rest as pleasing. After we work or accomplish a task, we might rest a bit, which is good. Or we might just rest all the time! Now, patience and laziness are two entirely different things. Laziness is very undesirable. In fact, there is more warning against laziness in the Bible than there is about drunkenness. We lay such a heavy emphases on not allowing drunkards, or drug abusers into church, but how many of us Christians are lazy? Something to think about. But, patience is something that we all must seek after. Why? because our Father is patient. How many times do you think you will mess up or sin in the next week? 5, maybe 10 times? I think the Lord may sit back and say, "go higher." But the remarkable attribute of the Father, because His very nature is love, is that He is infinitely patient with us. So patient that He will wait for the full number of Gentiles to be brought in before He comes back. Even more, Jesus Christ, who bore our problems and ugliness on the cross, died, and rose again, who is our High Priest, is waiting so eagerly to come back for us and to be reunited with His brothers and sisters of the remnant of Israel (we won't get into this just yet). But what amazing patience He has that He can endure the comments that people pay Him. The mocking of the cross, the spitting at His name, the pain that His children face...but all the while He sits patiently and eagerly. And I can see now, that this is something to seek the Father for. "Lord, give us an eager patience for your return!" And I believe He will honor that. And the Holy Spirit will stir up in us such a sense of patience and longsuffering in our everyday life. Events will come that are uncomfortable and they will roll off our backs. We will be put in situations that may require utter patience, and we will come through them with thanksgiving. And, again, these events are in everyday life. Traffic, family life, or anywhere else. But, we must keep in mind that because our Father is so patient through His love, we are called to be patient in our life. He has been so faithful and patient when perusing us, we too can turn to others and be patient. Again, it is not through our self-will and intellect, but it is through earnest prayer and a receiving heart from the Holy Spirit that we are equipped and led in these gifts. And the Lord may choose to illuminate these truths through scripture and other means that He deems fit. But one thing is for sure, the love we need is first from the Father; a love that produces kindness and patience all for His perfect will. And I trust that through these gifts of His love we are able to comfort and love each other more deeply, which the Lord is always pleased with.

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience." Luke 8:15

"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus." Romans 15:5