1 Corinthians 13.1
“Love is patient and kind …”
Patience is the Greek makrothumia, and it is a key attribute of authentic Christian love. Because it is directed and empowered by love, patience is the willingness to endure and face difficult people and challenging circumstances without blowing up with frustration or striking out in anger.
It is also the willingness to persevere and do what needs to be done as long as it takes. There will be people who irritate you. There will be situations that frustrate you. There will be plans and projects that take a long time and a lot of effort to achieve. The Lord instructs us to operate in love and be patient.
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord,” it says in James 5. “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Three times in this passage James tells us to be patient. Patience is a critical attribute for pursuing and achieving any goal. This is because God has designed a world where everything takes time and process. In order to be successful in anything, you must have the perseverance to execute the process that is necessary for the time that is required.
James uses the farmer as an example, because the farmer is disciplined about working the process while at the same time waiting patiently for nature to bring the rain that is necessary to water the crops. Love for his family is what motivates and animates the patience of the farmer.
Impatience, on the other hand, diminishes perseverance, and it happens when we complain about working the process, or get frustrated about the time that is required, or get irritated at the obstacles we have to deal with.
In any area of your life where you need patience and perseverance, start with love. Then understand the process and the time required, and do the work. For as long as it takes. Without complaining. That is love, patience, and perseverance. I
I love what James 5.8-9 says, “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers.” The admonition to “Establish your hearts” repeats and reinforces the call to be patient. As we engage with each other and navigate the situations and challenges of a fallen world, we need a heart that is established and strong.
The verb that is used here—sterizo—also appears in Luke 9:51, where it says that Jesus “fixed his face” to go to Jerusalem and to all that awaited him there. In this example from the life of Jesus you can feel the force of the verb sterizo: determination, resolve, persistence, courage, strength.
Love motivates you to be sterizo with the people in your life.
